Works at Copley Cricket Club could protect against 'one in a hundred years' flooding
Plans have been submitted for the latest part of the flood alleviation scheme at Copley
Hello and welcome to The Calderdale Lead.
I hope you all had a good Bank Holiday weekend and enjoyed some of the many festivities that were happening across the borough.
I spent quite a bit of time in Todmorden where the Folk Festival was happening and it was amazing to see so many people out, wandering from venue to venue to get their folky fix!
In today’s edition we’ve got news of how works at a cricket club in a Halifax village could save it from flooding.
Plus, sad news about a Piece Hall restaurant closure and some details ahead of tomorrow’s all-out election in Calderdale.
So, on with the news…
Calderdale Digest
☑️ Calderdale goes to the polls tomorrow for a once-in-a-generation ‘all-out’ election.
Every single seat on Calderdale Council - including some news ones brought about by boundary changes - is up for grabs and candidates have spent the last couple of months pounding the pavements in search of your vote.
Polling stations are open from 7am to 10pm and to find out where the nearest one to you is, click here.
Don’t forget that you’ll need to take some photo ID with you to vote at a polling station and you must cast your vote at your assigned polling station.
All votes are to be counted on Friday and results are expected from late afternoon.
Finally, to find out who is up for election in your ward, click here.
🍽️ A restaurant at The Piece Hall in Halifax is to close due to ‘economic factors’.
Some redundancies are likely to result from the closure of The Trading Room restaurant, cafe and bar, which is run by the Piece Hall Trust itself.
Last month the Piece Hall Trust warned the venue’s future was under review and that a “small number” of roles were at risk of redundancy.
Now the Trust has issues an update on the situation, announcing The Trading Rooms’ closure, citing economic factors as affecting its viability.
The Trust’s statement says: “After a thorough review and consultation, the Piece Hall Trust has made the difficult decision to close The Trading Rooms restaurant.
“Every possible option was explored to continue operations, but sadly prevailing difficult economic conditions have meant that all the initiatives undertaken did not have the desired effect on profitability.”
Cricket club works would help protect Halifax village from flooding
By John Greenwood
Detailed proposals to further protect a Halifax village from devastating flooding – including work around its cricket club – have been submitted to planners.
The Environment Agency (EA) is seeking permission from Calderdale Council to make changes at playing fields at Hollas Lane, Copley, and at Copley Cricket Club, Copley Lane.
If planners agree, they will form part of Copley’s flood alleviation scheme – some parts have already been completed – which taken together should offer “one in a a hundred years” standard of protection, plus an additional allowance for climate change, says the EA.
The site is not far from pitches at Copley Lane used by Old Rishworthians rugby union club.
Work will involve installing a drainage swale and an outfall into the River Calder on the south western corner of Copley Cricket Club.
The existing 1.2 metre dry stone wall to be taken down and rebuilt.
And while a drainage soak-away has already been installed to the south and at the eastern end of Copley Cricket Club and sports pavilion, this would be regularised by approval of the application.
The flood defence embankment at the east of Copley Cricket Club will be reinstated by filling in low spots in the crest of the embankment, according to supporting papers from engineers Arup.
An engineered reinforced concrete canal overflow spillway will be constructed along with a 200mm lowering of the towpath of the Calder and Hebble Navigation canal and a section of grass reinforced spillway will be built between the canal and the River Calder, if planners agree.
A steel bridge with five per cent slope ramps will provide access over the new spillway, says Arup.
Sport England will be a consultee and regarding how the scheme might affect the two sports clubs (cricket and rugby) and at this stage, say the engineers, if the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and Rugby Football Union (RFU) remain satisfied with arrangements for the work to be carried out they would likely raise no objection when formally consulted.
Copley has suffered from a number of flood events, most notably the Boxing Day 2015 flooding, due to high water levels breaching the banks of both the River Calder and Calder and Hebble Navigation canal, damaging homes, recreational land and other infrastructure.
During that event, water seeped through the existing flood embankment, over-topped the flood wall on St Stephen’s Street and overtopped from the Calder and Hebble Navigation on Copley Lane.
The flood also led to the destruction of the listed Copley Bridge, which was subsequently dismantled and replaced in 2017.
The work around the cricket club will form the second of three planned phases of work.
A completed first part better protects 229 properties in Copley village.
That’s it for this edition, thanks for reading!
We’ll be back later in the week with results and reaction from tomorrow’s council elections.
So, until then, enjoy your week!
Andrew