Latest news with #Calderdale
BBC News
2 days ago
- General
- BBC News
Plans to fill in Queensbury Tunnel move forward
National Highways has confirmed it will spend £7.5m filling in Queensbury Tunnel in West Yorkshire, which would prevent it from being converted into the country's longest underground organisation said the work was necessary to "stabilise the tunnel safely and securely," adding that proposals to restore and reopen the route would cost £ from Queensbury Tunnel Society have spent more than a decade developing plans for the 1.4-mile former railway tunnel to be reopened as a greenway that could link Bradford and the Department for Transport has supported plans to seal the 1870s structure and said restoration would be too expensive. National Highways took control of the England's disused former railway structures after the privatisation of British organisation has already spent £7.2m between 2018 and 2021 to strengthen the tunnel to prevent parts of it the time, the body said the work was to "ensure that any future plans for the structure can be realised".The organisation has said it would be too expensive to restore the route, but a Queensbury Tunnel Society spokesperson said the £22m figure was excessively high because National Highways want to "gold-plate" the society argued that a study by engineering consultancy AECOM in 2018 found that the tunnel could be repaired for £6.9m. Society spokesperson Graeme Bickerdike said: "The £7.5m that is going to be spent on abandonment could be spent on repairs to make it greenway ready."What we're proposing is a really ambitious active travel network, and nobody's under illusions about how dauting that is in terms of financing it."But you break it down into manageable chunks and spend the money when it's available, rather than the tunnel being lost forever."National Highways said the tunnel would be stabilised by pumping material into ventilation shafts 400 ft above the structure but a spokesperson said "we will not be infilling or demolishing the tunnel".When asked if the work would make the tunnel inaccessible and prevent it from being converted into a greenway, the spokesperson said: "Yes, that's an accurate summary."The government-owned company will now seek planning consent from Bradford Council to carry out the Queensbury Tunnel Campaign has been exploring the possibility of a judicial review that would examine the lawfulness of the decision. Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.
BBC News
10-07-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Aparthotel plan for Hebden Bridge's former civic hall
A Hebden Bridge pub could get a new lease of life as an aparthotel, if planners Bridge Ltd has applied to Calderdale Council to change the Crown Hotel, on the corner of Crown Street and Cheetham Street, from a public house with letting rooms to a public house with 16 aparthotel to the application, an aparthotel combines elements of both apartments and hotels using a hotel booking system which is it is successful, the plan is to rename the building The Civic Hall in honour of its previous history. Wayth Hotels already operates an aparthotel – The Briarcroft, at Goole in East Yorkshire – and Wayth-Hebden Bridge Ltd is run by two local business owners, with strong links to the local community, said the application proposal also stated an ambition to refurbish the existing ground floor bar/pub area and to rent this space out, said the Local Democracy Reporting Service.A decision on the plan will be taken at a later date. Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.
BBC News
08-07-2025
- BBC News
Calderdale child sex abuse investigators make 16 arrests
Sixteen people have been arrested as part of an investigation into historical child sex abuse in Yorkshire Police said 15 men and a woman, aged between 39 and 73, were detained in Halifax, Dewsbury, Oldham, Manchester and offences were reported to have taken place in the Calderdale area between 2000 and 2004 and involved two female victims.A force spokesperson said all of the suspects had been interviewed and either released under investigation or bailed pending further inquiries. Det Ch Insp Claire Smith urged anyone who had been a victim of sexual abuse, regardless of how long ago, to report it to the police. "Please be assured that you will be listened to, taken seriously and supported by professionals with experience of dealing with these kinds of offences," she added. Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.
BBC News
07-07-2025
- Automotive
- BBC News
Calderdale Council to spend £56k on fleet's eco-fuel
Using eco-fuel will cost Calderdale Council an additional £56,000 a year but will lead to savings on maintenance and prolong the life of its vehicles, according to the council has started using hydro-treated vegetable oil (HVO) instead of diesel to power its the high cost of the fuel was raised at a question and answer session with Silvia Dacre, cabinet member for resources, said the use of HVO would "delay the need to support capital expenditure" to replace the vehicles. "It also reduces maintenance costs, so that is the upside of continuing to use this fuel," Dacre leader Jane Scullion added that HVO fuel was also cleaner than diesel, according to the Local Democracy Reporting to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.
BBC News
06-07-2025
- General
- BBC News
Calderdale canal paths to be made fully accessible
More than £2.5m is to be spent on improvements to walking and cycling routes, including canal paths, bridges and zebra work includes making the stretch of the Rochdale Canal between Todmorden and Luddendenfoot fully accessible for the first councillor Scott Patient, cabinet member for climate action and housing, said work on the route had already made a "big difference" for people travelling along the said: "The route is really popular with people enjoying activities such as walking, jogging and cycling and this funding will allow more people to safely enjoy this part of the canal." He added: "When the weirs are in use, the water can be high, which is hazardous. "The improvements will support safer journeys and allow access for cyclists or those using wheelchairs or pushchairs."The plans will make the roughly 12-mile stretch of towpath from Luddendenfoot to Walsden fully accessible for the first time in its history, with step-free access opening up opportunities for all."The plans were based on feedback collected for improvements to Kilnhurst Weir in 2023, and include input from local disability Council was granted £700,000 for the work from the government's Active Travel Fund and £1.85m from the Consolidated Active Travel Fund, via the West Yorkshire Combined £400,000 of the grant will be used to support work in partnership with the Canal and River Trust to improve access across the seven weirs on the Rochdale Canal, which will begin later this bridge decks will be created at each weir, improving accessibility and making the area improvements include renewing zebra crossings at schools and signage upgrades in Brighouse and improvements are planned for the towpath between Todmorden and Walsden as part of the Active Todmorden project, funding for which came from the Todmorden Town Deal. Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.
