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Welcome to this week's newsletter from Calderdale Inside Out

I’ve been involved in the arts (in one form or another) for most of my life. And I understand how grassroots arts programming can have a transformational impact within communities . So this week’s investigation into the financial failure of “Stage At The Lake” was depressing (at least for me). Spending almost £100,00 promoting a local authority event attracting box office of less than £140,000 is unforgivable - especially in an arts programming context, by a council running a £7m deficit. But more than that it demonstrates staggering naivety amongst Calderdale Council’s senior leaders. Many are career civil servants with little or no experience of entrepreneurship/business, much less with knowledge of how to set up an arts festival from scratch. Let’s hope our journalism can ensure senior leadership at the council give their heads a wobble and see sense.

And for those keeping a close eye on the developments up on Walshaw Moor, it would appear the proposed wind farm has been dealt a blow by Natural England and the Environment Agency.

Enjoy this weeks newsletter, and and don’t forget, by sharing our content you are helping keep local journalism alive.

Have a great week!

Nick

Stage At Lake box office flop: Why did the Council’s Culturedale team spend almost £100K promoting just one event?

Calderdale Council admits “Stage At The Lake” required a “significant Council subsidy” after ticket sales fell short of its original business case. The acknowledgement comes after Calderdale Inside Out found almost £100,000 was spent on marketing consultants and advertising for the event.

Click here to read the full story

Calderdale Wind Farm: Has Natural England and the Environment Agency rung a death knell for the project?

Last year Calderdale Inside Out highlighted warnings that development on Walshaw Moor could damage peat and affect flood risk, now the Environment Agency says it has still not seen modelling to assess the wind farm’s flood impact, and Natural England says ecological problems may be impossible to compensate for.

Click here to read the full story

AROUND CALDERDALE

A proposed cut to affordable-housing funding leads this week’s round-up, alongside two major housing decisions, changes to hospital testing and scrutiny of the council’s handling of the Sowerby Bridge incinerator.

£62,000 cut proposed to affordable-housing payment

A developer’s contribution towards affordable housing in Ripponden could be cut by almost a third. Officers recommend reducing the payment attached to 12 homes opposite Rishworth School from £218,604 to £156,350 after independent viability testing concluded the original sum would make the scheme unviable. No affordable homes would be built on the site. Planning Committee will consider the recommendation on 29 September. The report identifies no mechanism to increase the contribution if the development performs better than forecast. Read the report.

230 homes—and five years of bus funding

Plans for up to 230 homes off Ellistones Lane in Greetland return to councillors on 29 September with a proposed £1m contribution towards the 343 bus service. Officers recommend outline approval, with up to 46 affordable homes and funding for junction, bus-stop and footpath improvements. The report records 403 objections. Education officers have requested no contribution towards schools, citing spare places. Bus funding would cover five years, with some potentially refundable if neighbouring housing developments proceed. Read the report.

Bradshaw homes recommended with drainage unresolved

Plans for seven to nine homes beside Bradshaw’s Golden Fleece Inn are recommended for permission in principle, although the final surface-water drainage outlet has not been secured. The site lies in the Green Belt and a Critical Drainage Area. The council’s flood authority records local flooding linked to culverts and warns that further drainage investigations could mean fewer homes can be accommodated. Detailed drainage would be considered at the next approval stage. Councillors will consider the application on 29 September; 39 objections are recorded. Read the report.

Hospital infection testing moves to Leeds

Microbiology laboratory testing for Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust moved to Leeds on 22 September. Samples are now tested at St James’s University Hospital, with urgent specimens continuing to pass through local hospital reception teams before transport. The Trust says its microbiology doctors remain its employees and expects faster results for some tests. The practical questions for patients are how quickly urgent samples reach Leeds, how turnaround times compare and what arrangements cover transport disruption. Read the Trust’s announcement.

Incinerator decisions receive “limited assurance”

An internal audit of the council’s decision-making over the Sowerby Bridge incinerator has received a “limited assurance” rating. The finding appears in an update going to Calderdale’s Audit Committee on 28 September. The rating concerns the decision-making review; it does not itself establish environmental harm or illegality. The questions now are what weaknesses auditors identified, who is responsible for putting them right and when that work must be completed. The update also lists a forthcoming review of the Piece Hall service-level agreement. Read the audit update.

£353,000 awarded for food, fuel and crisis support

Calderdale has listed 32 grants worth £352,985 for organisations providing food, fuel, household goods, advice and other crisis support. The awards form part of the new Crisis and Resilience Fund, for which the borough’s provisional 2026/27 allocation is £3.689m. These grants account for roughly a tenth of that allocation, with other help delivered through separate channels, including the council’s Welfare and Benefit Team. A complete breakdown would show how the funding is divided and what residents across the borough can access. About the fund.

COMING SOON

• we've been scrutinising footfall in Halifax Town Centre
• and watch out next week for another Calderdale Inside Out exclusive

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