This Who’s Who has two main sections:

• Mostly businesses and community groups
• Local government – councillors and officers

There’s some overlap between the two groups – for example through Calderdale Council’s Calderdale Energy Future Panel - which aims among other things, to “make local communities in Calderdale engaged [sic] in the carbon/CO2 reduction process”, but excludes the public from its meetings (and has no representation from Calderdale Trades Council).

MOSTLY BUSINESSES AND COMMUNITY GROUPS

Buildings

A variety of groups, organisations and businesses can help with reducing buildings’ carbon emissions and increasing their resource efficiency and energy efficiency. (See also Energy, below)

Hebden Bridge Alternative Technology Centre’s Sustainable Schools project (SUSchool) offers energy and water audits in schools as well as other advice on reducing energy use and carbon emissions.

Eco-tourism accommodation:  HB Woodcraft Folk’s Height Gate Camping Barn and the National Trust’s attraction, Gibson MIll in Hardcastle Crags both use biomass heating and  eco sanitation.

Mytholmroyd Builders Merchant Ltd supplies all kinds of building materials and promoted green building materials some time ago.

Energy Help – environmental consultancy for energy efficiency and renewable energy.

Resource efficient and energy efficient new builds

Hebden Bridge Town Hall extension has solar panels and Pennine 2000′s new social housing has been built to Code 4,5 & 6 sustainable building standards.

Straw Works designs and plans durable residential and commercial buildings using straw bales and natural materials. They have built over 300 buildings in the UK and Europe, including durable residential and commercial buildings using straw bales and natural materials. They also run training courses and provide services for self-builders and contractors. Straw Works are based in Tod.

Energy efficiency retrofits

Pennine 2000 housing association and  Calderdale MBC Housing Energy Action Team (HEAT) both carry out home energy efficiency retrofits. Calderdale MBC has a variety of funding and grants. Contact HEAT on Tel: 0845 245 6000, or email heat@calderdale.gov.uk

Yorkshire Energy Services (YES) is a national energy efficiency consultancycompany based in Halifax, that helps households and businesses to become more energy efficient and reduce carbon emissions. Yes Projects is offering  home energy improvement grants and loans to households in specific parts of Todmorden and Illingworth on a first come, first served basis until the end of Feb 2013, subject to a survey, as part of a Green Deal demonstrator scheme.

Domestic energy efficiency advice

Cragg Vale Carbon Neutral informs all Cragg Vale households via the Community Association Newsletter. It has carried out baseline carbon footprinting, sending questionnaires to all households.

Blackshawhead Environmental Action Team

Hebden Bridge Alternative Technology Centre.

Business Advice about reducing carbon emissions

Calderdale Carbon Club has been set up by local businesses to share ideas and best practice about reducing carbon emissions. I don’t have a contact person for this, but the Carbon Club’s been set up as part of Calderdale Council’s Energy Future strategy, so the Calderdale Council Environment Officer, Emma Appleton, may know. Tel: 0845 245 6000 – this is the main Calderdale Council switchboard number.

Calderdale Council’s Environment and Energy e-bulletin carries information about Environmental Business Support, available to businesses from a company called C-Tech Innovation Ltd. Any businesses wanting help to reduce their environmental footprints should contact Darren Hill darren.hill@ctechninnovation.com / 07702 372455. 

Calderdale Council has also launched Business Growth Calderdale. Local businesses that are aspiring to grow, work towards environmental improvements, become more competitive or develop new products and services can get help from an EU-funded partnership of  Calderdale Council, Bradford University, Leeds Metropolitan University and Community Partnership Solutions Ltd.

For more information about the scheme,  call 01422 392187 or email businessgrowth@calderdale.gov.uk

The Green Business Network, Calderdale & Kirklees provides environmental advice and support to local businesses  - although  their Business Advice webpage specifies that these services are only for Kirklees businesses, not Calderdale businesses.

It offers Landfill Community Grants to Calderdale community and environmental projects within 10 miles of landfill sites. “Projects MUST comply with the regulatory requirements of the Landfill Communities Fund (LCF) known as the ‘EB Manual’. Details of the LCF can be found on the website of the Regulator. Except for schemes with historic buildings or biodiversity (addressing a priority species or habitat), all projects MUST relate to a single park or another amenity evidenced as being:

• provided, maintained or improved for the protection and/or preservation of the environment (includes the natural, built and social environment).
• “something that makes the environment more pleasant or comfortable and/or improves the aesthetic qualities of an area for the general public.”

The Green Business Network supports the Calder Future project - a partnership of organisations with responsibility for rivers within the Calder Valley. Calder Future is part of Calderdale Sustainability Forum Ltd (see below, under Education). The Calder Future partnership is:

• British Waterways
• Calderdale Metropolitan Borough Council
• Calder Future Ltd
• Calderdale Friends of the Earth
• Environment Agency
• Green Business Network
• Halifax Canoe Club
• Northern Naturefriends
• Treesponsibility
• Yorkshire Water

CAMPAIGNING GROUPS

Ban the Burn

Ban the Burn! is an ad hoc campaigning group which aims to reduce flooding in Hebden Water, by making sure that the degraded Walshaw Moor blanket bogs are restored to the point where they can hold large amounts of rainfall and slow the flow of water into the valley.

See Ban the Burn news for updates on the campaign.

Calderdale Friends of the Earth

Calderdale Friends of the Earth Together with Calderdale Sustainability Forum Ltd, Calderdale Friends of the Earth has persistently lobbied Calderdale Council to adopt a target of reducing the area’s carbon emissions by 40% from a 1990 base, by 2020. Earlier this year, Calderdale Council adopted this target in Calderdale’s Energy Future vision document.  Calderdale Friends of the Earth contact person is Anthony Rae.

Hebden Bridge Transition Town has a number of working groups – the most active being HebVeg and Health & Wellbeing.

Hebden Bridge Partnership is an umbrella group open to all Hebden Bridge community and not-for profit organisations. It aims to work together to develop and support projects that make the area of the five local parishes “a better place in which to invest, live, work, shop and enjoy leisure activities”. It was set up by Upper Calder Valley Renaissance Ltd. It calls itself the Town Team and is to meet in December 2012 to consider its future.

 

Transport Campaigning 

Calderdale Passenger Consultative Committee – Upper Calder Valley member: Myra James. The Committee exists  to represent the views of users in relation to local public transport issues.

 

 

Calderdale 20′s Plenty 

20′s Plenty in Calderdale campaigns for 20 mph speed limits for residential roads, without speed bumps or other physical calming. To find out more about their forthcoming petition to Calderdale Councillors, to join for free or to help, you can contact 20’s Plenty for Calderdale Coordinator, Myra James, via Calderdale@20splentyforus.org.uk or 01422 845131.

Upper Calder Valley Renaissance Sustainable Transport Group – see DCarb Upper Calder Valley News for the group’s latest activities.

HB Transition Town Transport Group ”believes in encouraging lower-impact transport options, whether by train, boat, bike/electric-bike and trailer…Recognising that public-transport is to be encouraged over private”

 

EDUCATION

Calderdale Sustainability Forum Ltd  is a company based in Hebden Bridge. Its business is “Other Education not elsewhere classified.” It identifies itself as “the Local Agenda 21 body for Calderdale, incorporating Calder Future, and pushing forward the local strategies on climate change and recycling.” The Calderdale Sustainability Forum Ltd “chair” is Anthony Rae. In 2011 Calderdale Sustainability Forum Ltd provided Calderdale MBC with miscellaneous services under the headings of Economy and Environment-Regeneration and Economy and Environment-Environmental Services. Calderdale Sustainability Ltd works closely with Calderdale Friends of the Earth.

 

Hebden Bridge Alternative Technology Centre is “…an educational resource centre, we aim to make sustainability achievable and simply irresistible by working from a strong base within our local community to provide inspiration, accessible information and advice to improve the quality of life using sustainable means – economic, environmental and social.”

 

Tinderwood Trust Forest School “has been working in Calderdale for over five years growing out of a voluntary and community  group established by parents interested in playing and learning in less than traditional ways.

The group has been offering Forest School sessions to children and their families and carers, providing training and taster sessions for practitioners working within the EYFS, and offering consultancy on all aspects of creative outdoor play and learning and design of outdoor learning environments.” It also works with local primary schools and nurseries.

Treesponsibility Outdoor classroom  offers “…3 day environmental awareness residential courses with primary schools… The children help to create new woodland at various sites and take part in Forest School sessions in Hardcastle Crags,” as well as spending half a day in the Knott Wood outdoor classroom. Outdoor classroom also do one day woodland activity days, for activities like “habitat surveys, tree identification and nature walks, and building low rope bridges between trees.”

 

FOOD 

Blackshawhead Community Orchard

Calder Food Hub  – a community interest company promoting local food.It organises Seedy Saturday plant and seed swaps, provides local produce boards in Hebden shops and helps network local food producers with local retailers and local customers.

Hebden Bridge Farmers’ Market

Incredible Edible Calderdale

Incredible Edible Mytholm

Incredible Edible Mytholm is an unincorporated association with membership open to anyone who agrees with its aims. These are:

• To nominate the Mytholm Works site as a community asset under the terms of the Localism Act, in the light of its potential as a community permaculture/aquaculture food growing business, combined with a farm-gate retail outlet for locally-produced food, sustainable horticulture training and education and eco-tourism attraction and hotel.
• If the community asset nomination is successful, to set up a spin-off, community benefit company in order to exercise the Community Right to Bid for the site, if/when the Mytholm Works site owners put the site on the market.

To find out about Incredible Edible Mytholm’s objections to the Setbray/Belmont Homes planning application for a supermarket, hotel and micro-hydro power station on the Mytholm Works site, see the Buildings and Planning thread.

Salem permaculture allotments

New allotments for Dodd Naze

HebVeg is a Hebden Bridge Transition Town membership group that supplies its members with local, seasonal, organic veg boxes. “Members agree to pay £400 (equivalent to £10 per box) upfront for a year’s ‘cropshare’, either as a lump sum or by regular standing order. HebVeg will then grow and source local, seasonal vegetables and fruit, grown to high ethical standards to provide members with veg boxes for 40 weeks of the year. ‘Volunteer Members’ can join HebVeg and elect to just help out but not receive a cropshare….” A vegbox contains 6-7 types of veg/fruit,enough for 2-3 people. Monthly payment and half cropshare / small size box options are available too.

Blackshawhead Environmental Action Team (BEAT)

Redacre Growing Project  Mytholmroyd’s organic community growing space.

 

Calder Local Orchard Group – voluntary group promoting sustainable fruit production, planting orchards, providing training, mapping and using existing orchards, research.

Calder Valley Organic Gardeners – longstanding group promoting organic gardening.

 

Little Valley Brewery  All beers certified by Soil Association

Mays Farm shop, Colden

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

IT Computer repair, reuse and green decommissioning 

Dot com  “is Calderdale’s ONLY dedicated, not-for-profit provider of computer support services and solutions.”

 

 

 

RECYCLING

British Recycling Co (Jason Elliott). Local plastics recycling business.

Charity shops

Recycled furniture shop on Hangingroyd Lane

RENEWABLE ENERGY 

Blackshawhead Environmental Action Team

Pennine Community Power, an offshoot of Blackshawhead Environmental Action Team, was awarded a grant to part-fund the construction of a wind turbine in Blackshawhead. After selling £28,000 of community shares, with a minimum investment of £250, PCP now has the wind turbine up and running.

Power from the Landscape  supports communities across the South Pennines to install microhydro on old mill sites. These will generate less than 100 KW of electricity and are ideal for community schemes. Power from the Landscape points out that there is no potential in Calderdale for large-scale hydro-electricity generation. At a recent Community with Energy event, Peter Hill of Power from the Landscape said, “If you developed every micro-hydro site in the Upper Calder Valley, you could get 2.5 mega watts – the same as one wind turbine.”

Ecoheat & Power Ltd   provide  solar power hot water and solar power electric systems, plus hybrid heating systems and biomass heating.

Ablefuels - Solid Fuel Sales and Stove Showroom at  Able Fuels Ltd, Lower Underbank, Halifax Road, Charlestown, Hebden Bridge, HX7 6PH. Tel: 01422 842284

Sells solid fuels, real fires, stoves, cookers (all for any fuel), chimneys, patio heatersand related products and services. Delivers coal, smokeless fuel, wood fuel and solid fuel.

Pennine Wind Turbines can supply, install and support a wind turbine to power community and local authority projects, farms, country estates, industrial units, rural domestic properties, offices, schools and many more applications across all the regions of England, Wales and Scotland.

LED Fantastic - workers’ co-op advising people on ultra-low-power lighting.

TRANSPORT 

Hour Car - a not-for-profit community car share and ride share scheme. One of their cars is an electric car.

Hebden Bridge Alternative Technology Centre, electric bike hire, from 16 June.

Walking school buses -  a walking school bus is a group of children walking to school with one or more adults. Ask your school if they have a walking bus, there are some in the Upper Calder Valley but I can’t remember which.

WY Metro – buses take bikes (£1 charge).  After a lot of dire hooha with poor quality bus services, WY Metro has started a new contract with a different bus company and the new timetable for Hebden Bridge buses is here.

Friends of Hebden Bridge Station & Friends of Mytholmroyd Station – I’ll find links asap. Please come back to find them.

Cycle Recyle  “a volunteer driven, not for profit project under the umbrella of the Alternative Technology Centre based at  Hebble End Mill, Hebden Bridge. We aim to get more people out of their cars and onto the saddle, reducing the number of old bikes going to landfill and sharing our skills with other cyclists.”

Mytholmroyd Walkers’ Action - a community group that aims to:

• Encourage more walkers, walking more
• Make sure public rights of way and footpaths stay open
• Make walking more attractive to a wider range of residents
• Encourage more visitors to make Mytholmroyd a walkers’ destination.
• Encourage people to undertake more journeys by foot, rather than private car use.
• Work with other partners/providers to promote walking for a healthy lifestyle.

WOODLANDS

Black Bark, a workers’ co-operative, set up with these aims:

• To create local employment
• To spread, maintain and develop skills
• To encourage the use of natural local materials in construction and crafts
• To educate people about the advantages of using natural local materials
• To ensure that ‘economically viable’ woodlands are also ecologically viable
• To do all this within the context of the local community – if woodlands, local natural materials and the skills that go with them are valued in our community, then they will have longevity and will help the community to be more robust in the face of future change and challenges.

Blackbark also runs the Firebox Scheme - “a seasoned firewood delivery scheme that encourages investment in sustainable and responsible woodland management. By joining the scheme you are providing a secure income for local woodland workers as they bring neglected woodlands back into production…You can invest as much as you want. For every £65 you will be guaranteed 1 cubic metre of seasoned hardwood logs. Firewood will be available for winter 2012/13.”

Friends of Nutclough Wood  have been managing the council-owned portion of the woods with the overall objective of improving the bio-diversity in and the public access to the site

They are looking for a volunteer supporter, and say this is  “An opportunity to work with a small community group restoring a pond, woodland paths and pruning trees. We need help particularly with:

• Setting up and running a website
• Managing the woods volunteers
• Office work
• Fundraising”

Knott Wood Coppicers Ltd is a workers’ co-operative specialising in woodland management and tree planting.

Treesponsibility   The Source project is working on the uplands close to the source of the River Calder, which are in a seriously degraded state, in order to:

• Minimise flash flooding through appropriately sited tree-planting schemes.
• Treat damaged land and control erosion.
• Monitor invertebrates in the river and carry out habitat improvements.
• Undertake educational activities and encourage volunteering so people of all ages and from all walks of life become aware of the value of our rivers and uplands.

LOCAL GOVERNMENT – COUNCILLORS, DEPARTMENTS, COMMITTEES, OFFICERS & “PARTNERSHIPS”

 

Hebden Royd Town Council has these  Committees and delegated powers:

Allotments Committee decides and incurs expenditure within budget on:-

• All matters connected with allotments including identification of need, suitable sites, land lease/purchase and management policy

The asset transfer of Dodd Naze land has just gone through, so new allotments are on the way.

Membership of the Allotments Committee for 2012-13:

Cllr Boggis; Cllr Beacroft Mitchell; Cllr Scorer; Cllr Sweeney; Cllr Yorke

 

Environmental Renaissance/Parks & Paths Committee decides and incurs expenditure within budget on:-

• Christmas and other amenity lighting
• Play areas and open spaces
• Environmental improvements and initiatives
• Recycling initiatives
• Footpaths Refuse
• Leisure and sport
• Renewable energy
• Parks and paths
• Street and public area cleaning
• Picture House

• Strategy of Council, including Parish Plans
• Finance and Budgets
• Procedure and Standing Orders
• Police Liaison
• Representations and Reports
• Car park management & development
• Matters not specifically allocated to other committees

Hebden Royd Town Council recently adopted guidelines to use when considering planning applications for wind turbines, based on the Strategy & Review Committee’s recommendations.

Members of the Strategy & Review Committee 2012-13:

Cllr Allison; Cllr Baker; Cllr Hodgins; Cllr Scorer; Cllr Sweeney; Cllr Talbot; Cllr Young

I think there are other Hebden Royd Town Council committees, but they don’t deal with issues relating to climate change and energy.

Calderdale Council

The Council is composed of 51 Councillors. All meet together to decide the Council’s overall policies and to set the budget and Council Tax each year. The Council appoints the Leader and members of the Cabinet and also the membership of the various Scrutiny Panels and Committees.

Cabinet Meetings

The Cabinet is composed of the Council Leader and six Councillors appointed by the Council. The Cabinet has overall responsibility for the services which the Council provides  within the overall policies and budget agreed by the Council.

The Cabinet makes recommendations to the Council on major items of policy and on the annual budget and capital programme. The Council is responsible for considering and approving the Cabinet’s recommendations – or rejecting them.

The first half hour of each Cabinet session is open for public questions.  To ask a question, turn up about 5.50pm and fill in a form with your question. You will then ask it orally as well, in the Cabinet meeting. Here is more info from the Calderdale Council website.

The Cabinet Members are:-

Tim Swift (Leader)

Bob Metcalfe (Cabinet Member – Adults, Health & Social Care)

Megan Swift (Cabinet Member – Children’s Social Care & Lead Member for Children’s Services)

Mrs Pauline Nash (Cabinet Member – Communities)

Barry Collins (Cabinet Member – Economy and Environment)

Ashley Evans (Cabinet Member – Education & Life Long Learning)

Bryan Smith (Cabinet Member – Performance & Resources)

Janet Battye (Deputy Leader)

Scrutiny Panels

There are five Scrutiny Panels, each dealing with a separate area of Council operations. They look into matters of local concern and make recommendations to the Cabinet on policy, budget making and service delivery. Scrutiny Panels also monitor the Cabinet’s decisions and can call a decision in for consideration and further recommendation.

Each Scrutiny Panel has a membership of seven councillors:

• Children & Young People – Colin Raistrick (Chair)
• Communities-Helen Rivron (Chair)
• Economy and Environment-David Hardy (Chair)
• Use of Resources – John Beacroft-Mitchell (Chair)
• Planning Committee – Daniel Sutherland (Chair)

Here is the full list of Scrutiny Panel members.

Economy and Environment  Scrutiny Panel recommendation on the Green Deal

The Economy and Environment Scrutiny Panel recommended to Cabinet in October 2011 “ that they request Officers to develop a business case for Calderdale Council to become a Green Deal provider or assessor in order to maximise the potential both for income generation and the provision of independent impartial advice in the market place. Any income generated could then be re-invested in helping to further alleviate fuel poverty.”

I asked the Scrutiny Support Officer, Steve Barnbrook, for an update on whether Calderdale Council has applied to become a Green Deal provider or assessor, or is likely to. Steve replied, ”  It is my understanding that…a number of officers have been developing proposals, but needed greater clarity from the Department of Energy and Climate Change about Green Deal and the Energy Company Obligation. On 11^th June the awaited details of secondary legislation were released by DECC. I believe that discussions are underway with other local authorities in the Leeds City Region about how best to progress…”

Directorates

To carry out the policies decided by the Councillors, Calderdale Council has four Directorates

• Children & Young People
• Communities
• Economy and Environment
• Adults, Health & Social Care.

Each Directorate contains various departments, staffed by Council Officers.

According to the Calderdale Forward website, there is a pretty humungous number of Council Strategies and Plans for the Directorates to keep on top of – including eight environment, housing and transport strategies and three economy strategies.

If you want to keep up with Council progress on carrying out these plans and strategies, there are e-bulletins here, including the first e-bulletin about Calderdale’s Energy Future (CEF). If you want to be on the mailing list for the future CEF e-bulletins, or you have other questions about the CEF, email: energyfuture@calderdale.gov.uk.

Calderdale Council partnership groups

Calderdale Forward is the Calderdale Council’s new partnership website. It seems to be the shop window for the new Calderdale Assembly and other Calderdale Partnership groups, including the Energy Future Panel and the Transport Working Group.

This is a bit of the information spaghetti that I’ve been able to spin onto my fork:

What is Calderdale Assembly?

The Calderdale Forward web page says,

“the Calderdale Assembly has been established to ensure engagement with a wide and inclusive range of stakeholders on the development and agreement of Calderdale’s high-level priorities. Meetings of the Assembly take place twice a year and usually follow a conference style format.”

Does anyone understand that first sentence? I don’t.

Please can the Council use clear, jargon-free English?

What do they mean by engagement? As far as I understand the word, it’s term used in customer relationship management/ marketing, which means “get people to buy your stuff”.

And “stakeholders” is a concept in management theory, which has somehow oozed into the public sector and pretty much everywhere else. Management-speak types apply this “one size fits all” word to anyone and everyone – managers, customers, employees, citizens, the public, voters. You see what’s happening here? The word glides over and erases different roles and interests, forestalling the expression of conflict or differences. So the default position becomes: We’re all in this together. Where did I hear that before?

So what does the Calderdale Forward web page really mean? I’m sure it doesn’t mean, “come and tell us you agree with our policies and will help us to carry them out.” But that’s more or less what it sounds like.

Info from Calderdale Council’s Partnership Support Team

To try and understand this Partnership thing better,  I’ve asked the Calderdale Council Partnership Support Team some questions, and have received some answers:

Q: Please would you let me know how “stakeholders” are chosen to attend the Calderdale Assembly, and the Environment Partnership?

A: The Calderdale Assembly met for the first time in November 2011 following a review of the partnership arrangements. Calderdale Forward Board members met for the last time in June 2011 and put forward up to 3 nominations each for the Assembly. From the nominations a list was compiled ensuring there was a balanced split between different sectors and around 100 representatives were invited to attend. Feedback is currently being sought on the future role of the Assembly in order to draft its Terms of Reference, which will need to include membership.

Environment  A new Energy Future Panel is currently being set up, which is likely to replace the former Environment Partnership. The website will be updated to reflect this in due course. Following a meeting last Friday a ‘Call for Members’ and further information will be issued in the next few weeks. This will be a news item on our website.

Council officers

Council officers in each department are responsible for carrying out the policies that the Councillors decide on. The Officers also have expert knowledge in their field and advise the Councillors on policy making.

Council officers dealing with issues relating to climate change and energy:

Transportation Officer, Peter Stubbs

Housing Projects Officer, Housing Energy Action Team – Richard Armitage (responsible for Affordable Warmth Partnership, domestic energy efficiency retrofits)

Conservation Officer, Hugh Firman

Energy Officer, Daniel Knight

Environment Officer, Emma Appleton

Countryside Services Manager, Mary Seaton

Countryside and Woodlands Manager, Countryside Services
Tel: 01422 284417
Email: countryside@calderdale.gov.uk

Senior Forestry Officer, Richard Robertshaw, Tel: 01422 393212, Email: richard.robertshaw@calderdale.gov.uk

There are probably more than this – if you know of any more, please let us know by posting a comment.

Councillors with responsibility for climate change/energy/environmental matters:

Barry Collins (Cabinet Member – Economy and Environment)

Economy & Environment Scrutiny Panel members:

David Hardy (Chair)

Ferman Ali (Member)

Scott Lloyd Benton (Member)

Peter Caffrey (Member)

Jenny Lynn (Member)

Richard Marshall MBE (Member)

Ann Martin (Member)

The Economy and Environment Directorate has produced Calderdale’s Energy Future, a vision of how the area can reduce its carbon emissions by 40% by 2020, compared to levels in 2005.

Hopefully now you know how to find your way round the Upper Calder Valley climate change reduction and renewable energy scene, as it currently stands. So why not come in and add to the gaiety of nations, by saying what you think and what you’re doing, or would like to do?

 Planning Applications

If you’re interested in the latest planning applications in Calderdale, all the info is here. There is also a Buildings and Planning thread on Energy Royd.