Work planned to help shore up flood defences in Walsden
Plus, warning to postal voters and Todmorden by-election deadline date looms
Hello and welcome to The Calderdale Lead.
I’ve spent much of the last few days enjoying various sights and sounds that Todmorden has to offers against a backdrop of - largely - good weather.
I enjoyed the 150th anniversary of the Town Hall last weekend and then paid a first-ever visit to a true Tod institution - Monday Club at the Polished Knob.
The Polished Knob, one of the more, erm, unique watering holes in the town, hosts live music on a Monday afternoon and it was brilliant to see the place so packed! I’ll certainly be back.
Anyway, in today’s edition we’ve got news of some critical work that the Environment Agency wants to do at Walsden to help shore up flood defences and we’ve a warning to anyone with a postal vote that they might need to take action before they next vote.
So, on with the news…
Work on Walsden Water needed to help ensure flood defences stay strong
The Environment Agency has applied to Calderdale Council for permission to carry out work on Walsden Water aimed at securing the town’s flood defences.
The work - which will be at a stretch of the river alongside Rochdale Road from Shade Primary School down to Millhouse Culvert - includes putting in a new concrete riverbed in places, raising the riverbed and putting in place measures to slow the velocity of the water flow.
The EA says the work is essential because continued scour of the riverbed has the potential to compromise the integrity of flood defences and flood walls, the A6033 Rochdale Road and residential properties.
In a letter to council, planning agent Dana Abara of Leeds-based consultants ARUP said: “Significant impacts could occur should the flood defences/ flood walls be breached, including flooding to properties, disruption to traffic on the A6033 Rochdale Road and risks to residential properties.
“These measures will prevent further scour from occurring and ensure the longer-term viability of the assets on the bank top.”
River scouring refers to the erosion and removal of sediment or engineered materials from a riverbed or banks by the action of flowing water, often leading to structural damage or failure.
The scheme includes:
Shade Primary Culvert (60m section):
Installation of a concrete riverbed to protect the culvert structure.
Construction of two low-level weirs to slow water flow and minimise scour.
Between Shade Primary Culvert and Knowlwood Road:
Construction of three low-level concrete weirs within the river channel.
Placement of approximately 18m of scour protection (6m per weir) to stabilise the riverbed.
Between Knowlwood Road and the former sluice:
Installation of a concrete riverbed to further prevent erosion.
Up to eight low-level weirs to manage flow velocities and protect assets
Between the former sluice and Mill House Culvert:
Construction of six low-level concrete weirs in the river channel.
Placement of approximately 36–40m of scour protection (6m per weir) to maintain stability.
The Environment Agency has applied for what is known as lawful development certificate, which essentially confirms that a proposed or existing use or development is lawful for planning purposes.
Warning to postal voters as Todmorden by-election looms
Calderdale Council is writing to more than 30,000 postal voters warning them they may need to reapply to vote by post.
Following changes introduced by the government’s Elections Act 2022, postal voters now need to reapply to vote by post every three years.
All postal voters who completed a postal vote application form before 31 October 2023 will be required to renew their postal vote application no later than 31 January 2026.
Postal votes will be limited to a maximum of three years, following which it will be necessary to make a new application.
As part of the changes introduced by the government, all postal vote applications must contain the applicant’s name, address, date of birth, national insurance number and signature.
Their identity will be verified against records held by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). If this check fails, the applicant must provide further evidence of their identity.
Meanwhile, the by-election triggered by the resignation of Labour councillor Mike Barnes will be held on Thursday, May 8.
Anyone wishing to stand as a candidate now has just under a week to get their nomination in.
Nomination papers for the Skircoat by-election must be delivered to Calderdale’s Returning Officer at Electoral Services, Mulcture House, Mulcture Hall Road, Halifax, HX1 1SP between 9am and 5pm on any day but no later than the deadline of 4pm on Tuesday, April 8.
Forms of nomination paper can be obtained from the Returning Officer at that address who will, at the request of any elector for the electoral ward, prepare a nomination paper for signature.
There are also some other key dates for voters in the ward to bear in mind.
Applications to register to vote must reach the Electoral Registration Officer by midnight on Thursday, April 17.
Applications for, and amendments or cancellations of postal votes must reach the Electoral Registration Officer by 5pm on Tuesday, April 22.
Also, applications for a Voter Authority Certificate or an Anonymous Elector’s Document valid for this election must reach the Electoral Registration Officer by 5pm on Tuesday, April 29 – these enable a person who does not otherwise have photo ID now required for elections to be able to vote.
Applications can be made online at www.gov.uk/register-to-vote.
That’s it for this edition.
As always, if you have anything you think I should be reporting on or looking into then I’m on calderdale@thelead.uk
Have a great week and we’ll be back in your inboxes on Sunday!
Andrew