Calderdale firm scoops £100k 'big ideas' grant from West Yorkshire mayor
Mind Body Goals developed Luma³ Editions, a tool that offers breathwork and mindfulness techniques
Hello and welcome to The Calderdale Lead.
I hope you’re all having a great week.
In today’s edition, we’ve got news of a Calderdale firm who have been given a massive £100,000 grant from West Yorkshire Mayor Tracy Brabin to help them commercialise a tool which helps wellbeing. I’ve got full details below.
Plus, a couple of nuggets in the usual Calderdale Digest.
So, on with the news…
Calderdale Digest
🏠 An extra seventeen flats are now being used as temporary homes for homeless people in Calderdale.
The flats, in central Halifax at Trafalgar House, are helping Calderdale Council reduce its use of bed-and-breakfast accommodation, a Cabinet member has reported.
The spaces have become available thanks to the council partnering West Yorkshire housing association Horton Housing, said Coun Scott Patient.
Coun Patient, Cabinet member for Climate Action and Housing, said the building is newly refurbished and provides “much needed quality self-contained accommodation for both families and single households.”
In all, the service has access to 61 self‑contained properties that will be used in place of bed-and-breakfast accommodation, he said.
Coun Patient said Trafalgar House first became operational in December 2025, and as a result the service quickly saw a significant reduction in the use of bed-and-breakfast accommodation, with the proportion of homeless households placed in bed-and-breakfasts falling from just under 50 per cent to 34 per cent.
🎭 Senior councillors are being asked to give their formal approval to submit an expression of interest for Halifax to be named UK Town of Culture 2028.
When they meet on Monday (March 16) Calderdale Council’s Cabinet are asked to support submitting this by the March 31 deadline.
The UK Town of Culture competition, launched by the Government in January, invites towns to showcase their identity through cultural programmes, offering up to £3 million in funding to the winner.
It aims to boost pride, investment and access to the arts, with winners announced for a 2028 cultural year.
The Cabinet councillors are also asked to support continuing the CultureDale programme, particularly to get communities involved, and endorse efforts to bring in more external funding for events.
CultureDale is the legacy brand arising from Calderdale’s Year of Culture, which ran spring-to-spring over 2024-2025, and council budget proposals approved last month include £100,000 towards this, with other funding streams resulting in a pot of almost £350,000, with spending over three years.
Councillors are also asked to support establishing a Cultural Place Partnership Board to lead, advocate and oversee a “transformative” programme for culture, heritage and sport, ensuring Calderdale benefits from the opportunities presented through West Yorkshire Local Growth Plan for supporting thriving places.
The council asked members of the public what they thought about entering Halifax into the UK Town of Culture competition and senior councillors say they have been encouraged by the responses.
Calderdale developer wins £100k grant to help commercialise wellbeing product
By Andrew Greaves
A Calderdale firm has scooped a £100,000 grant from West Yorkshire Mayor Tracy Brabin as part of her ‘big ideas’ challenge.
Mind Body Goals has developed a product called Luma³ Editions, a tool that offers breathwork and mindfulness techniques, providing accessible, preventative mental wellbeing support.
The firm, which is based in Brighouse, beat competition from 19 other companies from across West Yorkshire to become one of three to receive the grant to help commercialise the product.
The challenge, launched by Ms Brabin last February, sought entries from West Yorkshire-based SMEs that could innovate to combat health inequalities among communities across the region.
And Michael Crinnion, founder of Mind Body Goals, said his own personal experience with mental health issues led him to develop the Luma³ Editions.
He said: “In my 20s, I navigated a very difficult period with my own mental health. Discovering the power of breathwork was a fundamental part of my journey back to wellbeing.
“My experience as a teacher and senior leader has also shown me the long-term impact that a lack of emotional self-regulation skills has on young people as they grow into adulthood – which is where the idea for Mind Body Goals came from.
“Standing here today as a winner of the challenge, I am committed to using the funds to ensure that Luma³ becomes a tool that is accessible for all those in West Yorkshire, so that preventative mental health skills become a normalised and accepted part of everyday healthcare.”
The Luma³ acts as a prompt to ‘check in with yourself’, using light to guide you through a range of breathing exercises, which the company say is scientifically proven to bring you calm, balance, and gentle relief.
Tracy Brabin, Mayor of West Yorkshire, said: “Our region is home to endless talent, creativity and ambition, and today I’m thrilled to announce the three winners of our Big Ideas Challenge.
“Each team will now receive £100,000 to accelerate the development of their lifechanging technologies – boosting health and wellbeing throughout West Yorkshire, and creating good skilled jobs in our region.
“By investing in innovation and backing the entrepreneurs who are determined to make a difference, we’re building a stronger, brighter West Yorkshire that works for all.”
The challenge has been led by the West Yorkshire Combined Authority, funded by the UK Government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, and delivered by global challenge expert, Challenge Works.
Support for each of the three winners also includes access to world-class research expertise and specialist facilities and a dedicated community of innovators to help these businesses navigate and scale their ideas for use.
That’s all for this edition of The Calderdale Lead. Don’t forget that if you’ve got a story you think we should be covering then please email calderdale@thelead.uk and we’ll take a look.
Until Sunday, enjoy the rest of the week!
Andrew