Councillors have given the go-ahead for conversion of retail premises to create a dog grooming salon.
Members of Calderdale Council’s planning committee approved the application by Michelle Duxbury to set up The Canine Beautician at the former Tanz salon premises on Halifax Road, Todmorden.
Volunteers from Upper Calder Charities Assist (UCCA) are running a coffee morning next Saturday, September 14, to raise money for Overgate Hospice.
It will run from 10am to around noon at the Community Resource Centre at Lever Street, Todmorden, which is just off the main Halifax Road in the town centre.
The hospice is the chosen charity of this year’s Mayor of Todmorden, Coun Jayne Booth, and the organisers hope as many people as possible will pop in for a brew, a break and a chat.
Todmorden’s preparations for the Tour De France’s arrival in the upper Calder Valley next year have moved up a gear with the launch of a website.
Designed by Shaun Murray, of Todmorden based Aegis Design, the Tour De Tod site will be added to and updated as more and more events are firmed up ready for the world’s biggest cycle race’s arrival in Yorkshire in July 2014. Additionally, Creative Graphics of the town have designed the group’s logo, pictured right.
A Tour De Tod steering committee has now begun work on organising a range of events to mainly run in the spring and summer months leading up to the Tour, which will be in the county on July 5 and 6 and which the committee hopes will bring economic benefit to Todmorden not just in the days and weeks around the race but also as a lasting legac.
It is an ideal opportunity to put Todmorden in the shop window while potentially thousands of visitors are in the area.
Cynthia Murray, of Todmorden Information Centre Trust, which is working with the steering group said the website was interactive with the facility to leave your e-mail address to be regularly updated.
And it also contains a countdown clock, telling you exactly how much time there is to go before thousands of people descend on the valley to watch, cover, ride in or just soak up the atmosphere of the big race.
It is planned to soon include cycling routes around Todmorden on the site.
“Our Tour De Tod website - log on to www.tourdetod.co.uk - is now up and running. We’re planning to include some cycling routes around Todmorden hoping people will look at it, go out and think ‘I’ll go and ride that’,” she said.
“We can’t stress how many people will be coming to the area from all over the world to watch the race and looking for somewhere within easy striking distance like Todmorden.
“We’re beginning to think of things to entertain both visitors and local people alike.
“If you have got a spare room, or a spare drive way where someone could park a caravan or some land where they can pitch a tent, let us know and we can help. You can call in at the Information Centre in Burnley Road and pick up a leaflet which explains what to do - it’s fairly simple. Accommodation is already booking up fast.”
The Todmorden News is also to start running a hard copy version of the clock in its pages from the first September issue.
When I first visited Hebden Bridge and the Calder Valley I instantly recognised this as the kind of terrain I knew from my childhood.
We moved here not long after.
Being born and brought up in Liverpool, my experience of the countryside was the beaches and valleys of North Wales. We may be short of seaside here but the local environment makes up for that.
Most important, however, are the people of the Calder Valley.
Being a kid in Liverpool in the 1960s and into the ‘70s I saw creativity all around: art, poetry, music and creative thinking (our city council had such innovative budget ideas that councillors were banned from holding public office by the Thatcher government after building thousands of council houses). Liverpool has always been artier than the Harry Enfield stereotypes.
That level of creative thinking is also woven through the culture of Hebden Bridge and the surrounding areas.
The music scene is thriving, as it has been for 30 years.
I had the privilege of booking bands at the Trades Club and seeing people turn up to see bands perform music you’ll never see on TV or hear on radio outside the specialist shows. Every July the Riverside festival brought more bands into the valley (and it always seemed to be sunny then!) and there was no real need to travel to see music. Several pubs and bars also provide music events and local musicians seem to have a level of quality equal to the acts Jools Holland would introduce on his ‘Later with...’ show.
When it came to be my turn to organise festivals in Calder Holmes Park we went for a ‘World on your Doorstep’ theme because within 15 to 20 miles of here you can find communities with links all over the world – and so we invited their musicians to come and play.
Seeing hundreds of people dancing to qawwali music performed by a band from Bradford who said they’d never performed for a largely white audience before showed the willingness of local people to experience the world around them – something the rest of the country could learn from.
When it went wrong and a storm destroyed the main stage the night before the festival was due to start, people rallied around and a new stage was built, sound and stage equipment donated and the people of this area made the festival happen anyway. I love the can-do spirit.
As well as the Trades Club we have the folk roots weekend, the Blues Festival, Arts Festival and various other events throughout the year.
We live in a world which constantly seems at war – literally – with itself.
It is a world in which the rich believe selfishness and greed is the way forward.
They mess up the economy and get away with it.
Worse, their newspapers and governments blame and punish the poorer members of society for the damage this selfishness and greed has caused.
Hebden Bridge stands out as different. The core of the local culture is co-operative, cares about the environment and cares about other people.
Clearly there are those pushing it forward – Transition Towns, Treesponsibility, various political campaigns against cuts and against racism exist here.
But most people you talk to on the streets are largely with them in values. Occasionally you meet someone who expresses racist or other unpleasant views, but they are few and far between.
The natural instinct is to help: last year’s floods were a great example of that.
As happened to others, we had to leave our house for three months while it dried out.
While the floods were rushing through houses, neighbours arrived in numbers to help build a dam behind the house; the community centre on Dodnaze provided food and sandwiches; Incredible Edible turned up from Todmorden with hot food and the next day a group of women arrived with mops and cleaning equipment donated by local businesses. I wouldn’t want to be flooded anywhere else!
People here care.
The uproar at Calder High School about Miss Rusty and being pushed to academy status showed how fiercely people believe in education, certainly more than Mr Gove and the educational institutions themselves appear to show.
Elsewhere young people are seen as a problem, primarily. Of course there is a shortage of angels – and many young people would want to avoid being put into that category.
However, the skate park, Fair for Youth and Park Life cafe show that here youth and ‘mature’ work together well – another example for the rest of the world.
I like it.
The valley looks great, the culture is sound, the arts and music are unbeatable for a place this size, the spirit of people is immense.
If you enjoy taking photographs, your hobby could win you a prize and a year’s free membership at a local group.
Todmorden Photographic Society is running its free-to-enter competition and winning entries will be shown at the society’s exhibition, which runs for four days from Friday, November 15.
You need to be quick, as the closing date for entries is September 29. There will be prizes for first, second and third.
Chairman Ian Wright explained that up to three entries could be submitted per person on any subject, and these must be the sole work of the photographer, taken with a camera and not computer generated although they could be enhanced.
Entry forms are available from Todmorden Information Centre on Burnley Road or downloaded from the society’s website www.todmordenphotographic.org.uk and your entries should be made digitally - on a CD in an envelope with your name and address, including an email address if you have one, which can be dropped off at the TIC, or you can email your entries, including the same information, to comp@todmordenphotographic.org.uk if you prefer.
Meanwhile, the society has put its 2014 calendar on sale, now available from the usual local outlets.
Physio & Therapies practice, Halifax Road, Todmorden, has found a company that will pay for used printer cartridges and old mobile phones and allow staff to donate that money to the charity of their choice - Todmorden-based Living Well, which supports women who have had cancer and their carers.
Items can be dropped in during opening hours - Monday, Tuesday and Thursday (9am to 8pm), Wednesday and Friday (9am to 4pm) and Saturday (9am to 1pm).
Little Valley Brewery in Cragg Vale is to create two new full-time jobs this autumn as part of its ongoing expansion plan in order to meet demands from customers in the UK and overseas.
Earlier this year the brewery expanded its production facilities, increasing its fermentation and maturation capacity to produce 17,000 additional pints per week.
Further investment will be needed to reach that output but the brewery hopes to achieve this within the next two years.
Master brewer Wim van der Spek is looking for an assistant brewer to help him grow the brewery’s production capacity, and also an office manager to support co-founder Sue Cooper in the running of the business.
The brewery produces an award-winning range of eight premium quality cask and bottle-conditioned organic English, Continental Style and Speciality beers, including the only Fair Trade Ginger Pale Ale in the world.
The full-time assistant brewer’s job requires someone ideally to have had previous brewing or food manufacturing experience and people management skills.
“We are proud to be creating two new jobs this year as we grow the business to meet current demand and find new business opportunities in the UK retail and foodservice sectors as well as new overseas markets,” said Wim.
Anyone interested in joining the brewery should contact Little Valley by telephone and speak directly to Sue Cooper on 01422 883 888 for more details.
Gareth Juliff, of Dover Street, Todmorden, captured this image of a robin sitting on a branch in the woods behind Centre Vale Park.
If you’ve taken a great photo in the upper Calder Valley, send it to us and we’ll publish it.
Email todnews@todmordennews.co.uk or hbtimes@hebdenbridgetimes.co.uk.
A judge has jailed a thief for 21 months after a jury found him guilty of theft and fraud offences involving some committed against a vulnerable pensioner.
Darren Toner, 28, who now lives in Burnley, had denied stealing money from the Mytholmroyd woman and using her bank card to obtain items off the internet.
But a jury at Bradford Crown Court found him guilty on all three charges.
Barrister Martin Robertshaw, for Toner, said he was unemployed and living with his girlfriend and had never been to custody before.
But Judge Peter Benson said Toner had befriended the victim, who is in her 80s, from a very young age and he knew about her dreadful symptoms of dementia.
The judge said Toner had exploited her vulnerability to extract money from her despite twice being warned by the police to not to take any money from the woman.
Judge Benson said Toner had continued to steal from the victim to fund his own “indolent lifestyle”.
“This was a persistent course of callous conduct over a prolonged period of time and a custodial sentence is inevitable,” Judge Benson told Toner.
The judge said listening to the case it had become quite apparent just how callous Toner was.
“It is quite obvious that you were aware of the distress that it caused her when her account was overdrawn and when payments were made on that account which she didn’t understand,” Judge Benson said.
“Nonetheless you persisted in that callous, calculated and greedy course of conduct.”
Two historic upper Calder Valley churches will also be open for viewing at the Heritage Open Days weekend.
Todmorden Unitarian Church, on Honey Hole Road, will be offering guided tours, displays, films and teas on Saturday and Sunday from 10am until 4pm.
St Thomas’ Church, on Church Street, Heptonstall, will be open on Sunday between 10.30am and 3.30pm.
Several upper Calder Valley attractions will be opening their doors to the public this weekend as part of Heritage Open Days 2013.
Todmorden Town Hall will be open for viewing on Sunday from 12-3pm.
Gibson Mill and Heptonstall Museum will both be open from 11am until 4pm on Saturday and Sunday.
Freedom from Torture’s Calderdale Supporters’ Group, founded in the Calder Valley, is set to hold its next meeting on Tuesday, September 17.
The event will take place from 7.30pm at the Maurice Jagger Centre, Lister Street, Halifax, and the guest speakers will be Keith Best (CEO of Freedom from Torture), Gill Newman (Psychological Therapist at Freedom from Torture) and Karin Oliver (legal officer at St Augustines).
There will also be films and refreshments at the free-to-enter event.
Event spokesperson Angie Barrs said:” We’re trying to have events more widely along the whole of Calderdale.
“We have done book stalls and cake stalls at Todmorden Carnival and Mytholmroyd Gala, and the next stage is to do something in Halifax. This event is for everyone. All are welcome.”
The next meeting, on Saturday, October 5, will be held in the Fielden Centre, Ewood Lane, Todmorden at 7.30pm.
At the meeting, Will Kaufman will be speaking about and singing the songs of Woody Guthrie.
Entry for the event is free and there is no need to book in advance.
Freedom from Torture is a human rights organisation which works to help survivors of torture to rebuild their lives.
The organisation, formerly the Medical Foundation for the Care of Victims of Torture, has been working for 25 years to provide direct clinical services to survivors of torture who arrive in the UK, as well as striving to protect and promote their rights.
Since its inception, over 50,000 individuals have been referred for help.
For more information about the organisation, visit www.freedomfromtorture.org.
Places are still available on a new BTEC Level 1 Creative Media course which is due to start at Todmorden Community College.
Learners aged 16 to 18 will study logo design, photography, film, graphics, promotional materials and set design. More information at the college open day on Thursday, September 19, 11am to 3.30pm
Several upper Calder Valley attractions will be opening their doors to the public this weekend as part of Heritage Open Days 2013.
Todmorden Town Hall will be open for viewing on Sunday from 12-3pm.
Gibson Mill and Heptonstall Museum will both be open from 11am until 4pm on Saturday and Sunday.
Two historic upper Calder Valley churches will also be open for viewing at the Heritage Open Days weekend.
Todmorden Unitarian Church, on Honey Hole Road, will be offering guided tours, displays, films and teas on Saturday and Sunday from 10am until 4pm.
St Thomas’ Church, on Church Street, Heptonstall, will be open on Sunday between 10.30am and 3.30pm.
Derby day dawns on Saturday in a match which has once again become a regular fixture in Burnley’s calendar.
As Burnley and Blackburn Rovers spent most of the 1980s and 1990s at opposite ends of the divisions, it became virtually extinct as a league fixture.
Since it has resumed - and throw in an FA Cup tie along the way - it is only last season that Burnley have got level pegging with their rivals.
Fortunately I’m long in the tooth and can remember a number of Burnley successes against Rovers in the latter part of the 70s, as since then we’ve had to cling on to Mike Conroy’s Lancashire Cup tie winner in 1991 as our moment of joy.
There was plenty of joy in the two league clashes last year, if not in the results.
Burnley were the better side in both games as Blackburn adjusted to life in the Championship, but only took a point from each game.
The lateness, and arguably offsideness, of Rovers talisman (against Clarets, any way) David Dunn’s goal, which snatched the cup of victory from our lips, left a nasty taste.
It isn’t as easy to call this time.
Blackburn have finally achieved some lift-off after a stuttering start while the Clarets, minus Charlie Austin and with no brass to their name, have started very well depsite squad limitations.
Both will have come out of the international break in buoyant mood, so the scene’s set for Sky’s televising of the East Lancs derby on Saturday lunchtime.
Both clubs have made a plea for calm, and although East Lancs police aren’t happy at the match being played on a Saturday, the convoy system to bus in the away supporters at each game is still in place.
However, the atmosphere will never be calm.
The motorway journey between the two grounds amply demonstrates the heated atmosphere.
A friendly wave at one bridge, and a most unfriendly one at the next.
A garden waste collection service is set to swing into action tomorrow, while work is onging to re-order Eastwood Waste Household Waste Recycling Centre.
The council is urging people to continue recyling items of household waste
Work has started on the Halifax Road site to make it safer and easier to use for visitors and staff, during which it will be closed for approximately five months.
There are notices and leaflets at the gates which explain what’s happening and advise on alternative ways to recycle and dispose of waste during the closure, said a council spokesman.
To help residents dispose of waste during this time, people in the OL14 and Hebden Bridge areas can have up to two extra bags of waste taken on their collection days, said the spokesman, who added that several community clean up days will take place over the coming months to help residents to have bulkier items removed.
People who live in the areas where these are happening will be informed in advance and bulky items will be removed on a specified day
And temporary garden waste collections for parts of Todmorden will take place on alternate Saturdays from September 2013 to November 2013.
The first round of collections starts this Saturday, September 14, from around 850 properties in Todmorden, followed by collections from 850 Hebden Bridge houses on Saturday, September 21.
All properties on the garden collection route will have received a letter about the service, and a garden sack.
Calderdale Council’s Head of Housing, Environment and Renewal, Mark Thompson, said: “Calderdale Council and SITA apologise for any inconvenience the closure may cause.
“We have set up temporary services to help residents continue to recycle and dispose of their household waste during the closure period. Once the site has reopened it will be much improved with a new exit, a one-way system to reduce queues, the clear separation of public and operational areas to improve safety, more space for vehicles and a wide of recycling opportunities.”
Alternative HWRCs are in Sowerby Bridge, Halifax, Brighouse and Elland. Bulky Household waste, for example beds, cookers or three piece suites, can be taken for a charge of £10, by visiting www.calderdale.gov.uk or ringing 0845 245 7000.
Recycling is still being taken weekly from the edge of people’s homes – covering glass, cans, paper, food waste, plastic bottles and textiles. If you are missing any recycling containers they can be ordered online at www.calderdale.gov.uk or by ringing 0845 245 7000. Alternatively, recyclables can be taken to your nearest local supermarket recycling site.
More information is available by following twitter @recycle_waste or the waste and recycling pages at www.calderdale.gov.uk.
A brewery and a cheese-maker have teamed up to produce a new product - and they want you to suggest a name for the tasty treat.
Carl Warburton and the team at Pextenement Cheese Company have created a new hard mature cheese using Barearts Brewery’s vintage barley wine, which is featured in the CAMRA Good Bottled Beer Guide.
They are inviting people to email name suggestions to trev@barearts.com.
A new singing group for people living with dementia will be launched in Hebden Bridge on Monday at the town hall.
Singing for the Brain is a programme developed by the Alzheimer’s Society for people with memory problems and promotes communication through singing.
The first session (1.30pm to 3.30pm) will be attended by the Mayor and Consort of Calderdale and MP Craig Whittaker.
More than thirty pupils who have started at Todmorden High in the new term had a taste of secondary school life when they attended its summer school.
The theme of the fortnight was “Breaking down barriers” and was aimed at supporting the children with their transition into Todmorden High School.
It allowed them to spend time getting to know their peers and new classmates, as well as a number of the staff who would be working with them in September.
This included their learning leader Mr Botterill, Miss Bedder and Mr Hussain, who will be learning managers during year seven.
They were also supported by some pupils who are beginning their final year this month, who were able to answer any questions they had about secondary school and to help put them at ease about their move to Todmorden High.
The summer school included a range of activities held all over Calderdale and the surrounding area - climbing at ROKT in Brighouse, farm visits to Staups Lea Farm at Blackshaw Head, water sports at Hollingworth Lake, a crime scene investigation, a day of performing arts and much more.
Feedback from pupils and parents has been excellent.
“As a parent, I feel it is an excellent opportunity for the year sevens to get used to the idea of a completely new school and feel comfortable about it,” one parent said.
Overall the children rated the summer school as “outstanding” and made lots of positive comments about their experience, saying that they “loved it”, had made new friends and wanted it to last for longer.
This was the second transition summer school and was even better received than the first one in 2012.
Every day was filled up to the point of being oversubscribed.
Todmorden High School hopes to be able to run a similar event next year.
