APRIL
Once again our AGM was held in Room D at Halifax Town Hall, kindly chaired and opened by the Mayor of Calderdale, Councillor Arshad Mahmood who hosted a reception in the Mayor’s parlour. The Chairman: John Hargreaves, Secretary: June Paxton-White, Treasurer: Gill Hurl and Publicity Officer: David Glover were re-elected and, following the departure to Scotland of Catherine Robins, whose contribution to our activities will be sorely missed. Ken Northcott was elected as Vice-Chairman. David Brearley, John Gaukroger, Susan Hargreaves, Val Humphreys and Pam Northcott remained on the Executive Committee plus Stuart Crowther and Dee Weaver who were elected. A number of nominations had been received for annual awards, but unfortunately this year one was outside the qualifying area and two projects were unfinished and carried forward to next year. A well-deserved Halifax Civic Trust plaque was therefore awarded to the Shibden Mere project, which has overseen the restoration of the gardens with planting of original species. This was followed by a presentation by John Shepherd on his eight years with Action Halifax, which had been discontinued after funding much valuable work. A highlight of the month was a visit to Halifax by a large contingent from Skipton Civic Society. They received an extensive guided tour of the town by Dr John Hargreaves with talks at several points including, Square Chapel, the Minster, Dean Clough and the Town Hall and many appreciative comments were received. The day was a huge success and will be followed by a reciprocal visit to Skipton next year. The replacement of York stone paving slabs by tarmac in conservation areas had been raised by a member and was raised with council officers. We learned that theft was an ongoing problem. An objection was made to the proposed extensions to a house on Carlton House Terrace. Members attended the Skircoat Ward Forum. Questions were raised about the flood risk in the proposed Copley Valley development.

MAY
The committee was saddened to learn that Val Humphreys was in hospital and had been forced to resign from Executive Committee and Planning Applications Sub-Group. Dee Weaver joined the group and Ken Northcott took over as convenor. David Glover prepared a lively questionnaire for the Halifax Festival town trail. Members had noticed more scaffolding and the removal of stone slates from 8 Bull Green, which was reported and action was taken. Enquiries were made about the current status of the Broad Street planning applications. We heard that they were still pending with 39 conditions on one and 29 on another still to be fulfilled. We were informed that English Heritage was involved. The report on the condition of Northgate House was still awaited. Various communications were received in opposition to the Copley Valley development. Our attention was drawn to a planning application for a straw bale building at Lightowler Road. A useful meeting was held at Harrison House attended by council officers, a councillor and various members with a view to finding a future use for the lecture theatre that had belonged to the Halifax Literary and Philosophical Society. It is now in need of refurbishment, although essential repairs have been made to the fabric, and is used only for storage of recycling rubbish and janitorial equipment. Problems were raised concerning fire, health and safety issues which appear to be intractable, likewise difficulties with disabled access and lack of toilets and other facilities. It was hoped that some solution could be found but we came away discouraged. A meeting at the oak room in the Old Cock was also arranged with a view to the restoration of the deteriorating fabric of the building. Enquiries were made about the fate of the former industrial museum in the plans for the Piece Hall. It still contains rare machines with little possibility of moving them but is not included in the funding. Environmental concerns were raised in relation to the Farrar Mills waste site in the Hebble Valley after Stuart Crowther and John Hargreaves had visited the site. Councillors and the CEO were informed regarding the hazards and alteration to the natural environment. Our concerns were acknowledged and the owner was ordered to stop trading.

JUNE 
This month the Executive Committee learned of the sad death of Val Humphreys whose funeral and memorial exhibition of her craftsmanship were attended by several members. She had been active in Halifax Civic Trust for many years and had made an invaluable contribution to the committee. She chaired the Planning Applications Sub-Group which benefitted from her professional expertise and passion for the preservation of the built environment. We attended a forum at Sowerby Bridge on the future of the Holmes Road triangle and came away with unanswered questions about the transport bottle necks. We also attended the Skircoat Forum at which concerns were again expressed about parking in the area. We replied to a consultation from CMBC about proposed improvements to the Odeon Cinema, which was visited by a sub-group who were impressed by the good condition of the Art Deco interior. We sent in our response to the questionnaire on the Town Centre Masterplan, which expressed our concerns about the Broad Street development and the future of Northgate House. Dr John Hargreaves was one of the speakers at the Calderdale Treasures Revealed in West Yorkshire Conference at the Heath Development Centre which brought together a wide cross-section of faith representatives around the theme of faith heritage.

JULY

The chairman and secretary were guests at the unveiling of the blue plaque presented by HCT at Copley Primary School commemorating Oliver Smithies, a distinguished scientist and Nobel laureate who lived in Copley and attended the school. Unusually Professor Smithies came over from the USA to unveil it himself. It was a delightful occasion much enjoyed by the pupils at the school. No replies had yet been received to our questions about the status of the Broad Street development and recent changes shown in a display at the Town Team meeting. We were informed that the successor to the Civic Trust was to be called Civic Voice. Tony Burton had been appointed Director and Ian Harvey Co-ordinator. The organisation is to be run on a much reduced scale, primarily as an umbrella for civic societies nationwide and a vehicle for lobbying and clarifying policy. We attended the YHACS main meeting in Bridlington. A query about blue plaques in Halifax and whether any had been turned down by English Heritage was passed on to us from CMBC. Investigations on the web revealed that it concerned the refusal of blue plaques for persons considered inappropriate. As our blue plaques are independent of English Heritage no response was given. A request was made to consider a blue plaque for a house once occupied by Dickens’s father-in-law at St. John’s Lane. Historical research would be done. Strong objections were made to a retrospective planning application for the alterations made to the former Heath’s pub at 8 Bull Green. It was discussed at the Town Team meeting and councillors thought an example should be made of it. We participated in an event at All Souls’ Church, Haley Hill and learned that the Churches Conservation Trust was not convinced it would be possible to link it to Bankfield Museum. At the Town Team we learned that the Heritage Lottery Fund bid for the Piece Hall had been approved and moved to stage 2: recruitment of 2 teams of consultants. Although Yorkshire Forward has withdrawn, public funding should still be available. We also learned that the Square Chapel Trust had been awarded £3.8 to convert the buildings on the Piece Hall side of Thomas Street to be called the Orange Box to provide facilities for young people currently housed in the YMCA building. Concerns were expressed about its suitability for this use. Planning permission was granted for the extensions to Square Chapel linking it to the Piece Hall and completion is expected in 2012. We learned that the pathway from Beacon Hill to Shibden was to be opened in the summer after some restoration but no funding was available for walling. We were told that the future of Northgate House was a political decision and amendments to the Broad Street project would be subject to planning applications.

AUGUST

We were informed that the owner of the Hebble Valley waste site had been prosecuted following concerns from the Fire Brigade about the fire risk. Work started on the Broad Street site. Concerns were expressed about the future of Illingworth Gaol which had been put up for sale. We learned that a CMBC officer had submitted a scheme for its possible reuse and it was subsequently withdrawn from sale. The Royal Oak pub, an important “Arts and Crafts” building that had received THI funding, was closed and for sale. The Piece Hall and the Hopwood Lane triangle projects were added to our list of buildings at risk as funding might disappear with Yorkshire Forward. Members attended the YHACS meeting at Bridlington where we learned of potential funding shortfalls caused because some civic societies were joining either YHACS or Civic Voice. HCT has joined both for the time being. We learned that the major Shaw Lodge mills project had fallen through, but there is some activity on the site including a stonemasonry course. This month brought the sad news of the death of Merial Evans who had previously been a stalwart member of the committee who organised annual awards and exhibitions and had produced a hefty file in support of the listing of Clare Hall. Several members attended her funeral in Rawdon.

SEPTEMBER

The winners of the Halifax Festival Trail quiz were announced. A copy of the quiz was posted on the website, which Dee Weaver assumed responsibility for operating. We were represented at the Civic Voice AGM held in Peterborough. The planning application for the new Trinity Academy was considered to be good, although attention was drawn to the presence of a medieval village on site and the need for archaeology. We heard that substantial work was being done on a listed building in Akroydon in collaboration with CMBC conservation officers to remove unauthorised alterations about which complaints had been made. The owner of the former Heath’s pub was granted time to appeal against the decision. The Town Team brought us updates on the Piece Hall bid, proposals for Beacon Hill and the Magna Via. We received confirmation that both CABE and English Heritage were consulted on the original scheme for Broad Street, which has since been considerably reduced in scale. The Masterplan is stalled until the funding situation is clarified. Ken Northcott, our Vice-Chairman, represented Peter Cooper the Chairman of YHACS and Pam represented HCT at the Heritage Environment Forum held in Halifax by English Heritage to coincide with the launch of their book “The Buildings of Halifax”. Dr John Hargreaves had been involved in discussions with the author about its scope and in commenting on the text.

OCTOBER

 This month we held a talk by Nick Wilding on “Ted Hughes and the Calderdale Landscape” before which the Festival Trail quiz prizes were handed out, but were sorry that Donald Crossley, Ted Hughes’s childhood friend who had hoped to attend was unable to be present on account of ill health. A retrospective planning application for the former Heath’s pub was turned down by the Council. The same owner had acquired the former Stafford Arms. We understood that the initial application was invalid and the work already done was considered inappropriate for the conservation area. Enquiries were made about the whereabouts of a sundial dated 1743 thought to have come from Heath Hall. We were informed it had been stolen and the matter would remain on the CMBC enforcement file. The proposal for Trinity Academy received the go-ahead and enquiries were made about the whereabouts of the statue of “David” by Jocelyn Horner and another of “The Boy Jesus”. We were informed that at last the bright blue cladding on Siddal school was being replaced by the cedar that was originally approved. We learned from the Town Team that the Orange Box was definitely to be included in the grant for the Piece Hall. John Hargreaves attended the Conservation Group and learned that it would have a prominent skateboard park in the sky with coloured lighting and a roof garden for growing vegetables, but there would no longer be any break through the wall of the Piece Hall contiguous with this facility. We were represented at the opening of the new King Cross library. We learned of a proposal to move the Boer War memorial from West View Park to Akroydon due to vandalism and decided monitor the situation.

NOVEMBER

We learned of new arrangements for viewing planning applications on line which would replace our weekly meetings at the Planning Dept at Northgate House. A second retrospective planning application was seen for the Stafford Arms following the invalid one that had been rejected. A potential user of the lecture room at Harrison House had been introduced to the conservation officers but was told that the proposal was unsuitable, however CMBC had received interest from 2 other parties. We hosted a talk by Margaret Usher on “Stone in Calderdale” at the Town Hall. Several members attended the YHACS meeting at Selby. Following concerns expressed about the future of All Souls and St. Stephens churches if the Churches Conservation Trust were abolished, we contacted David Adgar and were reassured that although funding had been cut, the CCT would remain in existence as an independent charity. We received a request to support an application to the SITA Trust for an extra £50,000 to supplement the remaining funding from the Townscape Heritage Initiative for the restoration of the Minster railings and were pleased to assist. The funds will come out of the landfill tax which is available for community projects. Considerable work has already been completed on the external walkways, walls and peripheral buildings.

DECEMBER

Our committee meeting at the beginning of the month had to be cancelled due to snow. Fortunately we did not need to cancel our Christmas social at Somerset House at which the Registrar John Jackson gave a talk entitled “Hatching, Matching and Despatching”. The event was opened by the Mayor accompanied by a group of German visitors from Aachen and was very well attended.

JANUARY

Several members attended the Town Team public meeting at the Shay at which John Hargreaves ably presented the case for retaining the central library, the fate of which is again in question. No decision has yet been taken to demolish the library or Northgate House as recommended by consultants. The case was also made for more retail provision in the town, theoretically on the site of Northgate House and the PO sorting office in Gaol Lane, with the possibility of moving the bus station. In view of the difficulty experienced in the past with finding major retail tenants for the buildings in Woolshops and Broad Street, HCT has serious doubts about the proposal. Civic Voice alerted us to the fact that the new Localism Bill had its second reading. It appears to give power to local people but it also weakens planning control, gives councils wider powers and enables more building to be undertaken without planning permission. Clarification is needed on the idea that neighbourhoods could demand a referendum in which case the result must be adopted. We heard that the site of Isaac Button’s kiln at Soil Hill had been sold for development and asked for the West Yorkshire Archaeology Service to be allowed to work on it. We were pleased to hear that the archaeological survey had already been done.

FEBRUARY

Our committee meeting began with a presentation by Darren Tweed of the CMBC Spatial Planning Team on the new Local Development Framework. He handed out three core documents and ten area leaflets designed to drive development over the next 20 years. Consultation is in progress to produce a draft plan by the summer of 2011. Our attention was drawn to the local objectives and policy options affecting housing, historic environment and design. The plan replaces the former Urban Development Plan, will incorporate the Masterplan and will supersede “Streets Ahead” produced by the Town Team. Members attended a planning forum on the LDF core strategy. YHACS asked us to survey and notify buildings at risk on an official form. We were pleased to hear that the historic Maltings building on the former Fountainhead Brewery site had been acquired by Hipperholme and Lightcliffe High School. The building had previously been refurbished and converted into a school, which had closed almost immediately after it opened. The Planning Sub-Group had visited the site and hoped the intended use could be made of it. Our Chairman was again heard on Calderdale Phoenix FM Radio. He also attended a site meeting at Halifax Minster and was supportive of plans for an extension to provide office and kitchen accommodation and to extend the performance and worship provision in the nave. He later conducted a guided tour of heritage sites with consultants from Norwich preparing an educational resource initiated by the Bishop of Wakefield and supported by a number of local organisations including Halifax Civic Trust. He accompanied the Hon. Hugh Crossley on a tour of Crossley heritage sites linked with a project to enhance references to his family’s Halifax connections at Somerleyton Hall, which the chairman visited in September. A well-attended visit was made by Halifax Civic Trust to the Calderdale Central Library to view the state-of-the-art archive facilities, reputed to be among the best in the country. We were duly impressed by the facilities in the basement and by a selection of precious documents that were produced for us to view, the oldest being in Norman French. Members attended the YHACS AGM in Harrogate. Members also attended a presentation on the proposed Copley Valley development. Only one planning application had been submitted for a new bridge. The committee was not minded to mount a campaign against the overall proposal as it included desirable improvements to the flood defences and infrastructure and resolved to address each application as it was made. One of our members had visited the Farrar Mills refuse site and reported it was in a dangerous state. We learned that the owner was to be sentenced at Bradford Crown Court. Before the end of the month the Courier reported on a fire at the site which emphasised the urgency of the matter. We received several nominations for annual awards, some of which had been carried forward from the previous year.

MARCH

Our final event of the year was an informal visit to the Playhouse, hosted by the Thespians. Jeanne O’Rourke gave us an interesting talk on the history of the building and the Thespians. We looked at a collection of theatrical scrapbooks and playbills dating back to the 18th century and groups were shown round the facilities. This year important changes have taken place. Forthcoming legislation will require HCT to maintain increasing vigilance in order to keep abreast of developments. We have appreciated the information received throughout the year from members expressing concerns about various issues. From now on it will be incumbent upon us to keep a watch, not just on listed buildings, conservation areas and planning applications, which will greatly reduce in number as restrictions are lifted, but also on green field sites. Any member is entitled to come to the business meetings held monthly by the Committee, usually on the first Monday in the month at Halifax Town Hall.

PLANNING APPLICATIONS : Pam Northcott

We continued to look at selected planning applications by regularly visiting the Planning Department in Northgate House. In mid November a major change occurred in that we have now to view the applications on line. Hopefully we have negotiated a procedure for those schemes which, because of the volume of paperwork, would prove unduly onerous by this method. A building which has been completed this year is the conversion of Halifax High School to Clare Hall apartments. This is of a high standard and it is proposed that it will be awarded a Halifax Civic Trust plaque – the only one for 2010. Proposals for the following buildings have been submitted to the planning Department during 2010:

No.1: The Apollo Wine Bar and Hotel. The height of the proposed new building has been reduced by two storeys so as not to dominate the surrounding area. It is also proposed that the existing building should be restored in keeping with the surrounding buildings.

No. 2: Halifax New College which will replace somewhat run down existing buildings. This work is now ongoing.

No. 3: Trinity Academy. The proposed building is of a high standard but has caused controversy by blocking an existing footpath – this has to be resolved.

No. 4: My Place/The Orange Box. This is a facility for young people adjacent to the west gate of the Piece Hall. It incorporates an existing building with a new extension on the south side.

No.5: McCarthy and Stone, the developers who specialise in properties for retired residents, propose to construct a block of apartments on the vacant area previously occupied by the modern blocks of Halifax High School (Clare Hall).

These are the only major projects that are proposed. The development on Broad Street is under way and unfortunately is of a commercial standard that can be seen in any town. There is now an ongoing discussion concerning the Central Library and main council offices at Northgate House. It has been estimated that the refurbishment would be too expensive and that these buildings could be replaced by commercial units. This is in spite of a strong protest from the citizens over the past two years that the library with its extensive archives should remain in the centre of the town. The only thing to be done regarding all the new developments is to keep a watchful eye. The town centre has a large banking community with quality existing buildings. This should provide an incentive for high quality buildings. It was noted in last year’s report that Heath House Surgery was to be extended. It was decided that the site did not provide adequate space for parking, therefore a new site with an existing building was selected. This is to be the Boulevard in Savile Road. The development includes the old Holy Trinity School which incorporated the 1726 Savile Hall that is to be retained. It is hoped that the work which is under way will be completed by the summer.

~~~~~

Local Development Framework (LDF)

The LDF is Calderdale Council’s new style development plan that includes, among other things, their overall vision of future development over the next 20 or so years. Once agreed, the Core Strategy in the LDF will guide the building of new housing, schools, retail developments – in short, all the buildings and infrastructure planned to meet perceived increasing needs. The Council are keen to have residents' input on this important document.

 Further information is available from:

http://www.calderdale.gov.uk/environment/planning/development-framework/core-strategy.html

The proposed redevelopment of the Northgate site.

This summary of the case for the retention of the Calderdale Central Library and on the issue of wider retail and redevelopment of Northgate is based on a presentation by Dr John Hargreaves, Chair of Halifax Civic Trust, to the Halifax Urban Renaissance Town Team Meeting on 13 January 2011 at the Shay Stadium: 

Introduction: Jason Gregg has declared an interest as Manager of the Woolshops Development, I also wish to declare an interest: I care passionately about the future of Halifax, its townscape and its community life, which is why, I suppose, I am currently Chair of Halifax Civic Trust, a voluntary organisation which has campaigned tirelessly since 1962 to celebrate, enhance, interpret and safeguard the built environment of Halifax. As a member also of the Halifax Antiquarian Society I am aware of the extraordinary treasure trove of archive material housed in the Archives and Special Collections at Calderdale Central Library, including thousands of items collected by the Halifax Antiquarian Society, since its foundation in 1901.

Why should the Calderdale Central Library be retained on its existing site?

1. It should be retained because the existing building was purpose built to a high specification and provides exceptional facilities for community use in a conveniently accessible location. The new building was a distinct improvement on the facilities available at the previous site, Belle Vue Mansion, both with respect to standards of conservation of the archive and library collections, conforming to stringent national BS5454 standards and also in terms of enhanced public access and usage. I recall researching local newspapers for my MA and PhD theses in a dingy back room at Belle Vue with a solitary microfilm reader where access was severely constrained by coat hooks and stacks of storage boxes. However it must be remembered that the sale of Belle Vue Mansion and grounds facilitated the creation of the new facility and any loss or diminution of the facility at Northgate effectively nullifies both that legacy and its promise of improved facilities for future generations. When I wrote my history of Halifax I interviewed at length one of the moving spirits behind the creation of a new Library facility, the late Councillor Wilfred Sharp, a Hipperholme market gardener, who loved books and recognised the value for the whole community of a high quality centralised library resource. The new purpose-built combined archive, library and meeting room facility was the product of the vision of the Council, its officers and the historical strength of public support for libraries in Calderdale and ranks as one of the most visionary and enduring achievements of Calderdale MBC in the whole of its existence and across all spheres of its activity. Indeed to this day it is the only purpose-built combined archive and library facility in West Yorkshire. It is vastly superior to facilities in larger cities such as Bradford, Leeds and Wakefield and at both its opening and tenth anniversary celebrations the facility was acclaimed by Dame Antonia Fraser, one of the leading literary figures of our time, who performed the opening ceremony. If demolished or truncated it would be the only recorded instance nationwide of the demolition or dismantling of purpose-built facilities designed to this standard. Moreover expert investigation has demonstrated that it would be prohibitively expensive for a developer to replicate the full range of facilities currently available here on any other site or even re-model the existing site to preserve the Archive storage facilities, in view not only of construction costs and space considerations but also of costs arising from the logistics of moving resources into approved storage during the process of demolition and reconstruction. The construction costs in the 1980s amounted to £2.4m equivalent to estimated rebuilding costs to the same specification of 9.3m in 2009, whilst any necessary refurbishment (no matter how serious) would cost only a very small fraction of total rebuilding costs to the same specification.

2. It should be retained because of the durability and quality of the original construction both internally and externally. In terms of durability the building has probably the most secure storage of any publicly owned building in Halifax: hence its usefulness for the storing of postal ballot boxes at election times. It has high-security, blast-proofed, fire-proofed, flood-proofed strong rooms, which offer secure storage for irreplaceable and sensitive documents. Given that parts of Yorkshire have experienced severe damage and destruction through flooding and civil disturbance in recent years these features are not to be dismissed lightly. The exterior ashlar stone facing is from the acclaimed Woodkirk quarries and is exactly the same source and quality of stone used to create the perimeter steps and paving at the Lloyds/HBOS building. Indeed the angular modernity of the Library building complements that of the Lloyds Banking Group building at Wards End but its scale and design is also entirely sympathetic in proportionality to the fine existing nineteenth century buildings on Northgate, including the refurbished Victorian shop fronts and the impressive former Crossley carpet warehouses. The building also complements the adjacent civic offices, Woolshops and Bus Station. The interior fittings are robust and functional - many have commented on the generous spacing of the staircase steps and the building, despite the steep gradation of the site was designed to meet disabled access criteria, but there are also decorative interior features such as the customised and now historic Crossley-woven carpets which add distinction to the facilities. Above all the interior with its modular demountable partitions has proved eminently adaptable to changing needs, for example the demand for increased ICT provision. It even included a highly visible and accessible Tourist and Public Information point at one phase in its evolution intended to help both residents and visitors to explore the town‘s amazing heritage.

3. It should be retained because of its sustainability as a public utility on a council owned site where it is currently not susceptible to inflationary rent rises and servicing overheads deriving from commercial pressures. A redesigned facility within a commercial development would be much more vulnerable to such economic vicissitudes or even the disastrous sudden collapse of the business host.

4. It should be retained because its functions are designed to promote lifelong learning. Where else in Calderdale is such a high degree of self-motivated, auto-didactic learning evidenced? The community in Calderdale has arguably exceptional cultural and educational needs for lifelong learning on account of its historic preference for selective secondary education in Halifax itself, its ethnically diverse communities and its high demographic age profile, together with its unfortunate lack of an institution of higher education and the predominant focus of its FE institution on vocational education. The library facilitates through its extensive accommodation the provision of imaginative and stimulating activities ranging from the popular pre-school Busy Babies to the University of the Third Age for the retired. One ninety-year-old member of a local history class I am currently teaching for the WEA travelled every Thursday evening during the recent severe weather from Mytholm Court beyond Hebden Bridge to Calderdale Central Library returning by bus on her own at 9.10 p.m. and said how much she valued the intellectual stimulation, which she had found difficult to find in her sheltered accommodation where she couldn’t even recruit a partner to play Scrabble. Last Thursday afternoon, I encountered a group from Age Concern meeting informally to discuss how to cope with the current severe winter weather. Moreover, large numbers of local students in primary, secondary, tertiary and higher education value the use of these facilities for homework, revision and further study, including many students from culturally deprived and disadvantaged households. Job seekers search the internet at times when other facilities are unavailable and staff in the reference library with whom I spoke recalled offering encouragement and practical help when invited. Even mature students researching at PhD level find the facilities of the Local Studies and Archives invaluable - I am co-supervising one of three University of Huddersfield doctoral students researching local cricket history in Calderdale. There is nowhere else in the world, except the island of Barbados, where there is such intensive study of cricket history in one locality and the basement rooms of the Library host some of the displays created by the HLF funded Cricketing Heritage Project. More generally by providing computers and access to the internet the Library helps to bridge the digital divide and provide the information literacy skills necessary for learning, living and work.

5. It should be retained because the combined facilities are clearly valued by all sections of the community. Over 16,000 people from across Calderdale supported the massive DBOL petition in 2009 and thousands more a parallel petition organised by the Calderdale Pensioners‘ Association. We were encouraged not only by the volume but also by the range of support from all the diverse communities of Calderdale, including thousands of local residents, library and archive users, former senior officers in both the library and archive services, technical experts who had been involved in the design and construction of the building, trade unionists, members of all the main political parties, members of churches, mosques and voluntary organisations. These included the Calderdale Pensioners’ Association, the Halifax Civic Trust, the Halifax Borough Market Tenants’ Association, the Halifax Scientific Society, the Halifax University of the Third Age, the Halifax Probus Club, the Soroptimist International of Halifax and the Workers’ Educational Association. The campaign also received support from many distinguished academics, eminent figures from the world of culture and the arts, representatives of business and commerce and Halifax’s MP Linda Riordan who presented our petition to Downing Street and then to Parliament. Not since the Chartist Movement of the 1830s and 1840s has Halifax engaged in such a high profile petitioning of Westminster. Moreover CMBC’s own extensive three consultations organised entirely on their own terms revealed overwhelming public support for retention of the facilities on the existing site and to its great credit CMBC then voted unanimously to retain the linked archive, library and meeting room facilities on the existing site, reversing a previous council decision taken in haste without adequate consultation. Moreover since this decision was taken use of the library and archives facilities has continued to grow, bucking trends in some other places. Around 370,000 visit’s a year are made by people to use library services at the Central Library with up to a further 15,000 visits being made to attend events organised by a range of organisations and community groups. Indeed the profile of the library and archives services was raised as a result of the DBOL campaign and it is likely that any proposal to demolish or part demolish the facilities will be vigorously resisted.

6. It should be retained because it contributes a cultural asset and provides comfortable, neutral, safe and supervised community space within an inner ring road where most publicly accessible space is either dedicated to retail, associated with a high entry tariff, or has associations with alcohol or gambling which diminishes its appeal to some sections of the community, for example the very young or members of ethnic minority communities. It is also a hub for cultural networking throughout Calderdale both informally and through the range of activities which it hosts in its meeting rooms and through the communications network with branch libraries dependent on the support services provided by the central library team.

7. It should be retained because the building contains a vast treasure trove of archival and library deposits, many the gift of local residents, and is widely regarded (locally, regionally and it would not be an exaggeration to say globally) as a much valued and indeed indispensable cultural resource. The Calderdale District Archives includes rare documents dating from the twelfth century to the twenty-first century, including the pattern book of Samuel Hill, a worsted weaver of Kebroyd, which reveals the vivid richness of the cloth samples, the diaries of Cornelius Ashworth, an eighteenth-century weaver from Wheatley which illustrates the growth of the textile industry in Calderdale before the factory age, when the Piece Hall was the marketing centre for the Calder Valley and the Anne Lister diary, which is currently under consideration for listing as an archive of national significance, and the papers of Halifax’s most celebrated novelist, Phyllis Bentley, to cite just a few examples. They require and now receive high quality conservation in some 3 km of quality storage shelving units plus additional capacity for future expansion, together with complementary facilities such as the Local Studies, Reference and Meeting Rooms facilities to encourage maximum community use. It is salutary to note that Halifax has previously lost two valuable resources - its parochial library which it allowed to be moved from the Minster to the University of York in 1957, where it is now a prized asset. Had it been retained in its original location it might now have been as significant to Halifax as the chained library at Hereford Cathedral. Then in 1962 Halifax lost the library of its premier intellectual society the library of the Halifax Literary and Philosophical Society which was sadly dispersed. Today the unique libraries of the Halifax Scientific Society and the Halifax Antiquarian Society are housed in excellent conditions at the Calderdale Central Library together with the Library’s own Special Collection of finely bound books by the renowned eighteenth-century bookbinder Edwards of Halifax with their innovatory laminated vellum bindings and artistic fore-edgings and colourful marble-grained end papers. The equally remarkable Horsfall Turner collection now numbering 7,500 items is also housed here and the popular cheaper editions of books pioneered by William Milner in Halifax for a readership from a more economically limited background, together with Phyllis Bentley‘s writing desk and other memorabilia.

8. It should be retained because it helps to preserve the documentation as yet only partially explored which underpins Halifax’s unique identity as a place and helps to connect heritage and learning with the town’s economic future. It has already been and will continue to be a springboard for both professionals and volunteers interested in promoting Halifax as a uniquely attractive historic town. Let us not forget that this kind of thinking shaped the development of Woolshops incorporating rare historic features like the beautifully restored No 1 Woolshops together with some later facades and preserving of course the uniquely, historically significant name of Halifax’s medieval trading street. It also has underpinned the restoration of Somerset House and the opportunity that residents and visitors will now have to dine and even take afternoon tea in the finest saloon of a town house anywhere in Yorkshire. Halifax Civic Trust, I might add, played a key role in both of the development of both these inspirational concepts, but expert opinion has been challenging the town to engage in marketing its unique history for years and of course the Piece Hall project has now given a greater sense of urgency to the realisation of this aim.

What are the wider retail and redevelopment issues?

1. We all hope that the Broad Street Plaza will ultimately succeed, but we need also to recognise that the projected development on the site remains commercially untested. It is also instructive to recall that previous retail and leisure offers on the site (ten pin bowling and supermarket) have failed as did the previous cinema offers at Wards End, which closed on account of an irreversible trend of dwindling attendances. Moreover, issues have been raised about the commercial viability of the duplication of ten pin bowling facilities in the town, the provision of further sites for office development and the quality of the design and finish of the construction in such a high profile position adjacent to the town hall, one of the town’s landmark buildings. We also need to take account of respected expert opinion, grounded in a wide range of urban experience. For example, CABE (the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment, which together with English Heritage made a high profile visit to Halifax recently) referring particularly to the Broad Street and Northgate plans strongly doubted whether ‘successful contemporaneous development of all these sites was credible - even before the financial difficulties of recent times’. Nor did they think that bringing all these sites on line at around the same time would be good for the town or the quality of the developments achieved’. Indeed they concluded explicitly that ‘the demolition of council offices which have served only a few decades’ and the redevelopment of Northgate should not be regarded as ‘top priorities’. They regarded ‘the reinforcement of existing retail variety - by repairing the Borough Market and improving more traditional shop units’ as ‘a necessary precursor to major retail development’. But they praised the exceptional quality of the Dean Clough achievement, which has set the finest example of adaptation of existing historic buildings to a variety of sustainable twenty-first century uses and commended the imaginative plans for the development of Square Chapel and Eureka in helping to revitalise formerly neglected areas of the town. Above all, they urged Halifax to market its unique selling point namely its fascinating history, suggesting even that Halifax had the capacity to become a visitor attraction comparable to Harrogate within the context of West Yorkshire. Moreover, as CABE has pointed out, one of Halifax’s major attractions is that much of central Halifax is highly visible from the heights which form part of the town’s spectacular setting and so the visual impact of buildings needs to be considered not only at street level but also when viewed from a distance and from the high-level vantage points such as the Burdock Way, Southowram Bank and Beacon Hill. The group of buildings on the Northgate site, including the adjacent civic offices, which complement well the Town Hall with their blend of Renaissance features such as mansard roofing and modernity, make a positive and striking impact in both respects. Moreover, the Halifax Bus Station is unique in bus stations across West Yorkshire in incorporating three major features relating to Halifax’s historic past and thereby contributing to the realisation of the CABE vision. Where else is there a bus station in which pedestrians approaching the site from the east have a choice of two arched stone entrances, which celebrated the Jubilee of the Zion Chapel Sunday School which formerly occupied the site. Halifax has rightly been identified as a pedestrian town and the pedestrian route which I take almost daily across the town via these arches for my swim is both well defined and well used and for me both breath taking and exhilarating. Where else can bus drivers enjoy a break in a former Regency Chapel probably designed by R.D. Chantrell, one of the leading classical architects of his day or bus passengers (until recently) enjoy fish and chips or coffee in an Italianate former Victorian Sunday School building? Its supposed disadvantages and the supposed advantages of bus stations elsewhere such as Huddersfield, which has been surrounded with controversy since it opened, have been exaggerated. There may indeed be some who imagine that being cocooned in a vast hangar is somehow more preferable to enjoying the spectacular views from Stand C on Halifax Bus Station, but there are drawbacks to the concourse designs. They lack distinctive character, they require an army of cleaners to keep the floors clean and safe in poor weather, they assist the spread of airborne infection and anti-social behaviour and have proved so expensive to maintain that the future of two recently constructed models at Batley and Cleckheaton have already been jeopardised in the economic squeeze and reversing buses at Huddersfield add time to journeys and have generated accidents, whilst cascading water down the huge frontage of the building can give passengers an unwanted shower bath on very wet days.

2. In terms of retail development few would argue with the appropriation for retail use of the Post Office Sorting Office site provided that a suitable alternative site could be found for that operation or with the reconfiguration of the parking-retail balance across this site and the eastern perimeter of the Woolshops site, which CABE criticised as a dispiriting prospect at the current end of Woolshops and which never quite achieved its objective in continuing the line of the medieval Woolshops route towards the Minster. However, consideration needs to be given to three other factors. One the impact of enlarged retail provision around Northgate on retail provision in other parts of the town centre, for example in Halifax Borough Market, the Piece Hall, the Westgate Arcade and other areas currently languishing such as the north side of George Square, the northern end of Waterhouse Street, the new retail outlets at Crossley House, with purpose-built retail units worryingly still untenanted at ground floor level, and the new Broad Street Development. Another factor worthy of consideration is the truism that retail has thrived in unusual locations in Halifax both within and outside the inner ring road. No one could describe either the location of Harvey’s Department store on Rawson Street nor the buildings it occupies as entirely ideal, particularly for access, and the same could probably be said of the Wilkinson store on Southgate and yet both, thankfully, are thriving and popular businesses. Macdonalds and Burtons also thrive in none purpose-built premises. Halifax also indisputably has a thriving retail sector on its outer perimeter, for example, Sainsbury’s (an unlikely valley bottom site), Currys, Next, DW Sports (nestled along the eastern perimeter of the town), Matalan (another valley bottom site), Range, Staples and Comet on Pellon Lane, all with dedicated parking spaces, but whose access from the town centre could be improved with more user-friendly pedestrian crossing points across the inner ring road such as the two which work so well on both sides of Bull Green and a final example of an apparently remote but successful trader, currently in splendid isolation almost beneath Burdock Way, Wynsors World of Shoes, all demonstrating that it is no simple matter to identify in Halifax where retail outlets might best thrive. Thirdly, there are neglected sites which cry out for retail use both inside and outside the inner ring road notably the Theatre Royal site, which could accommodate a large retail unit with access via the Westgate Arcade and which might better connect the Piece Hall, which sometimes appears functionally isolated, with the town centre retail offer, The Pennine Centre on Horton Street, the Church Street gateway, the Hopwood Lane Triangle, the former PC World store, the Martins Mill site and possibly other sites around North Bridge and Broad Street. Developments in these and other similar areas would enhance the appearance of the townscape and preclude the need to demolish serviceable and durable buildings which are valued by a wide cross-section of Calderdale’s communities and which already contribute to the distinctive built environment of the town.

In conclusion, I want to emphasize that there are alternatives which might enhance the retail provision of the town centre without requiring the destruction of a valued cultural asset. Moreover, the retention of such a popular landmark feature and valued community resource as Calderdale Central Library, Archives and Meeting Rooms, at the heart of the town centre ought also to be appreciated as a significant contributor to Halifax’s economic vibrancy, not only because the buildings and their contents have the potential to link heritage with economic regeneration, but also because many of the 400,000 or so visitors to the library and archives, a not inconsiderable footfall representing a wide cross-section of the public, may combine their visits to the Library with the patronage of retail or catering outlets in the town centre. Halifax has a unique built environment with buildings from almost every era of history of significance and a fascinating history which Colum Giles has written recently in a commendable joint collaboration between English Heritage and Calderdale MBC ‘deserves to be better known’ a commendation which applies both within Calderdale and beyond. It is in such a fortunate position because it has more than many other places cherished its heritage. Number 1 Woolshops could easily have been lost, so could Square Chapel, so also could even the Piece Hall and we would have been as a community so much the poorer, both economically and culturally, had those buildings not been saved. The Halifax Civic Trust fought in the 1960s to achieve retail development that was proportionate to Halifax’s unique townscape and the resulting ambience has been much praised. DBOL, bringing together an even wider coalition of local interests to preserve the Library Archives and Meeting Rooms in 2009 recognised that the people of Calderdale would live to regret the potential loss of one of the finest facilities of its kind anywhere outside the largest of cities and the people demonstrated their support in huge numbers for its retention. Their unmistakable will to see it continue to serve the communities of Calderdale must be respected by the political decision makers. Moreover, for the thousands who supported the massively successful 2009 campaign to retain the library, archives and meeting rooms on the existing site it will seem incredible, so soon after the matter appeared to have been settled, that the debate is being re-opened. Indeed some may question whether this evening’s meeting is an adequately representative forum in which to address an issue of Calderdale-wide significance, which concerns residents of Hebden Bridge, Sowerby Bridge and Brighouse as well as the residents of Halifax.

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11th October 2010

Winners of the Halifax Civic Trust Festival Trail were presented with their prizes at Halifax Town Hall by chairman, John Hargreaves. Front, left to right - Mrs Robertshaw, Ella Robertshaw (runner-up prize), Matthew Broadbent (first prize), Jeannie and John O’Rourke (third prize). Rear, John Hargreaves, June Paxton-White (HCT secretary) and Lucy Burnett (Halifax Festival Coordinator). Richard Jarvis, winner of the second prize, was unfortunately unable to be present.

The questionnaire will remain available from Halifax Festival Trail 2010  should anyone else like to download and complete it for their own interests.

13th May 2010

On 29 April 2010, the Mayor of Calderdale, Cllr. Arshad Mahmood, hosted the Halifax Civic Trust Annual Awards 2010 at Halifax Town Hall. Having presided over the Trust’s well-attended Annual General Meeting, at which all officers were re-elected, the Mayor presented the award for the restoration of Shibden Park. The plaque was received by Deborah Comyn-Platt, Shibden Estate Manager. John Shepherd, former Chief Executive of Action Halifax, then gave an illustrated lecture about his eight years of involvement with that organisation.

The name “Action Halifax” was adopted early in 2001, for a regeneration partnership formed the previous year, when a total of £13.75 million was awarded to Calderdale by Yorkshire Forward, to oversee the management and implementation of the Government’s S.R.B. Calderdale Council approached the partnership to manage a £7.7 million budget and run the E.U. Programme “Halifax: An Enterprise Town.” Further funds were later secured, and during its existence, Action Halifax successfully managed an investment programme worth over £70 million.

A large variety of valuable local projects had been supported, from the restoration of Garden Street Mill to the Elsie Whiteley Centre, from Social Inclusion projects to creating new opportunities for learning and skill development. Some of these projects have won notable awards, and it was regrettable this capable and much-valued Calderdale regeneration body was now no more. Mr Shepherd was thanked by John Hargreaves, Chairman of Halifax Civic Trust.