A cuppa in Kershaw
Local councillor is Leader of Calderdale
After the successful ‘cuppa with a councillor’ idea was launched in Mytholmroyd last August it was the turn of Midgley Community Room to host the second ‘cuppa’, at the end of October. Once again, lots of local people took the opportunity to drop in to talk with Jane, Scott and Katie, to share concerns – or just enjoy a mug of tea or coffee.
As we mentioned in our last newsletter, our ward councillor Jane Scullion has been elected as Leader of Calderdale Council. We caught up with her to ask how she is getting on.
“We want everyone to feel that, as your councillors, we’re accessible and easy to contact, so you won’t be surprised to hear that we’ll be hosting more ‘cuppas’,” says Jane Scullion. And next it’s Kershaw’s turn. Just drop by on Saturday 17 February, 10.30am-12 noon, to the Kershaw Community Room.
Q: So what precisely is a council leader? Jane: The job is to fight for Calderdale, to make sure it gets what it really deserves and to ensure the council performs as well as it possibly can, by establishing our vision and strategy and selecting the Cabinet of key councillors to work with. Q: Who chooses the Leader?
Confining the Calder Last year saw unprecedented heatwaves, droughts and flooding in many parts of our planet, and we had a few close shaves locally too in terms of the water levels in the river Calder. Scott and Katie continue to be active as volunteer flood wardens, and Katie has been elected the deputy chair of the Flood Risk Partnership for West Yorkshire. “I was a speaker at a recent conference in Leeds focusing on regional water catchment solutions. There’s great work under way including things like real-time surface water flood warnings, property flood resilience measures and nature based solutions,” she says.
Keeping in touch
Jane: Each year all the Labour councillors vote for the person they want as Leader. It’s a real honour that I’ve been chosen. Q: Calderdale has employed staff, of course. Jane: Yes, and we’ve got some great people working for Calderdale who really try their best in difficult times. I work with the council’s Chief Executive to ensure that their efforts are directed towards meeting our aspirations and vision. Q: Are you working full time?
Katie, Scott and Jane have their own cuppas ready, just before the start of Midgley’s ‘cuppa with a councillor’ last Autumn
How to reach your local councillors
Jane (laughs): Very much full time! I’m in Halifax Town Hall a lot, and also in Leeds to bang the drum for our borough at the West Yorkshire Combined Authority. They all know how to spell Mytholmroyd now! But I’m still trying to do my best as a ward councillor for everyone living in our part of Calderdale. Q: This sounds hard work. Why do it? Jane: It can be hard work but I feel it’s important that we have a strong, accountable council. Democracy is vital, and effective local democracy is a key part of this.
Councillor Jane Scullion, 07740 943673 Councillor.jscullion@calderdale.gov.uk
Services under threat This is the time of year when Calderdale’s Labour administration works long and hard to produce the council’s budget for 2024-25. The budget always balances (the expenditure is the same as the income), but each year the task of doing this while protecting public services gets harder.
Councillor Katie Kimber Councillor.kkimber@calderdale.gov.uk Councillor Scott Patient, 07843233779 Councillor.spatient@calderdale.gov.uk All local residents are welcome at the regular Ward Forums, attended by councillors and representatives of the Police. Details at website. Search for ‘Calderdale Upper Valley Forum’.
Local councils are mostly dependent on funding from the national government, and this year Westminster is (once again) cutting in real terms what it is providing. The news was greeted with dismay across local government, even by Conservative as well as Labour councillors. One Conservative council leader elsewhere said publicly that the announcement was “bitterly disappointing”.
Our newsletter Our newsletters are delivered by Labour Party volunteers throughout our ward (Booth, Boulderclough, Brearley, Cragg Vale, Hubberton, Kershaw, Luddenden, LuddFoot, Midgley, Mytholmroyd, Wainstalls. Warley Wood). We bring them out every three or four months, so you’re in touch with your elected councillors. Published by Jane Scullion for the Labour Party, c/o Trades Club, Holme St, Hebden Bridge; printed by Leafletfrog, 38-39 Britannia Way, Bolton, BL2 2HH
Scott and Katie at the Brearley Fields open day last year. Katie is keen to establish a Friends group to give the area some TLC. Interested? Please contact her.
Jane is now Leader of Calderdale Council
Cuts, cuts, and then more cuts. How can we build create decent communities with good services while this goes on? It’s time for a change – we deserve competency and compassion at Westminster.
Spring is surely on its way, so here’s the Spring 2024 newsletter from Jane Scullion, Scott Patient and Katie Kimber, your three councillors on Calderdale council.
Tracy’s big climate chat
Getting bus services better
Lighting up dark winter days
Tracy Brabin, Labour’s Mayor for West Yorkshire, has been running an online ‘Big Climate Chat’ to get direct feedback from people on what can be done to tackle climate change in our region.
As well as fixing bus fares at £2 (£4.50 for a day), the Mayor of West Yorkshire Tracy Brabin has recently been conducting an extensive public consultation to see how our bus services can be improved. For example, her research revealed that 54% of people surveyed said they weren’t satisfied with their local bus services.
Jane, Scott and Katie were among the large crowd enjoying the Christmas Market, held in the Mytholmroyd Community Centre, lighting up the valley just when the weather was cold and the nights long. The organising group (which included local businesses, Hebden Royd Town Council and the Rotary Club people) deserve everyone’s thanks for a really successful event and cheering us up.
“This is a once in a lifetime opportunity to transform our economy, create new skilled jobs, develop a sustainable public transport network and improve our health and our homes,” she says. Type ‘Mayor’s Big Climate Chat’ into a search engine to find out more.
Katie, seen here making a presentation at a West Yorkshire conference on anti-flooding measures
Planet on borrowed time The council has a new Climate Action Plan, for the three years up to 2026. It includes measures that the whole community can take to try to address our growing crisis of global warming. Scott, who has Cabinet responsibility for climate issues, has been instrumental in getting the plan drawn up. “There’s a lot of good progress already happening in Calderdale, not just by the council but by all sorts of local organisations and people, so there’s plenty to build on,” he says. Tracy Brabin (seen here at a recent council event with Scott Patient) will be Labour’s candidate for Mayor of West Yorkshire again in May. The Mayoral election is at the same time as the Calderdale Council elections.
Take your time – please! We live in a frantic world, and some people approach their driving in the same helter-skelter way. Complaints about speeding feature as one of the most common problems people raise with Jane, Scott and Katie. In the past few years, your councillors have worked with local communities to successfully get slower speed limits for Brearley and Cragg Vale, but we know there’s more that can be done. There’s also the reverse problem, when traffic on the valley road tails back from one of the seemingly endless roadworks. The utility companies (gas, electricity and water) are usually responsible for temporary lights and (even though they are private companies) have powers to dig up roads without seeking prior authorisation. Unfortunately much of our infrastructure is Victorian, and showing its age.
CLIMATE CALDERDALE
ACTION PLAN 2023-26
He adds that helping our environment, for example by improving home insulation, can also help our health and our bank balances.
A safer crossing for children Traffic lights have been installed by the council alongside Luddendenfoot Primary School, to enable children and their parents to cross the busy A646 more easily. The new lights by all accounts are working well.
Unexpected new residents Our distance from the sea hasn’t stopped a family of cormorants from making the valley their home. These distinctive black sea birds have taken to perching on the very top of street lights on the valley road. They’re certainly a change from all those Canada Geese on the canal.
Bus services were turned into privately-run ventures back in 1986, and privatisation has meant that through-ticketing and coordination of routes has been very difficult or impossible. Tracy Brabin is now actively considering using her powers as Mayor to move back to proper public oversight of bus services, through franchising (similar to what happens now in London and Manchester). Expect more news on this in the Spring.
Make your ‘X’ count We have the good fortune to live in a democracy, so of course people have choices at election times. Those of us in the Labour Party are naturally very grateful to everyone who regularly put their X against the Labour candidate’s name. Thank you for your support. But we know there are others in our community who’ve never previously voted Labour, but who may be pondering their options for the 2024 elections. Perhaps this year is the moment to give Labour a chance! If you feel like this, we’ll undertake to do our very best to deserve your support.
Josh is Labour’s choice Josh Fenton-Glynn has been selected by local Labour Party members as Labour’s candidate for the General Election. Josh grew up locally (in fact, Calder High is his old school) and is currently a Calderdale councillor for our next-door ward of Calder. He lives locally with his wife and two children.
Fighting fly-tipping It’s a tiny minority of selfish people who dump waste in our country roads and lanes, and clearing up their mess costs public money. The council tries to clear up fly-tipping quickly. You can report new fly-tipping at https://new.calderdale.gov.uk/dio/report-fly-tipping.
Taking action in Wainstalls Good things have been happening up in the beautiful village of Wainstalls, where the new Community Action Group has been bringing residents together and forming strong partnerships with local organisations. Among other things, the group has already supported two tree planting events and run a road safety campaign, and plans include organised health walks and a dementia friendly café. We’re full of admiration for their energy and commitment.
An inspiring young man We live in hill country, and one hill in particular is well known nationally to cyclists. The cycling challenge from Mytholmroyd up Cragg Vale (the longest continuous ascent in the country) has now been officially named – at the request of his parents and local cyclists - the Oliver Collinge Climb. Oliver, who very sadly died of cancer in his late twenties, lived all his life in Cragg Vale and was a keen cricketer and rugby player as well as a cyclist. “It’s really appropriate to remember Oliver in this way, and it’s been a pleasure to work with Calderdale’s Highways Department to make sure it happens,” says Scott.
Josh, ready for whenever the General Election comes
“I’m passionate about our beautiful valley and our strong communities, and want to have the chance at Westminster to make a real difference to everyone’s lives. I do believe that together we can build a better future,” Josh says.
Bridging the gap Work on the new footbridge across the Calder at Mytholmroyd is getting there. Once it’s done, we’ll be able to get a proper shelter for the village’s main bus stop. The bridge completion will mark the very very end of all the post-2015 flood works in Royd.