Roger Moore who lives in Hebden Bridge and is chief executive of the NHS Appointments Commission, has been awarded an OBE. Dr Moore served as a senior NHS manager and senior civil servant before joining the commission which was established in April 2001. 16 June

Arnie Woods remembered
Hebden Bridge journalist Arnie Woods who was killed in a road accident four years ago, was this week remembered by his former colleagues. His widow, Maggie Woods, presented an award in his name to the area journalist of the year, Ben Holt, 28. Maggie Woods set up the trophy in her late husband's name to honour junior reporters. She said Arnie was always proud to be a journalist, describing himself as a "humble hack" who was always enthusiastic about newspaper journalism. Ben Holt said: "It is really nice for your work to be recognised. And, even though I never met Arnie, I really hope he would have been pleased with the decision. I'll do my best to live up to his memory." His winning stories included an account of a relief mission by members of Halifax's Pakistani community to earthquake-stricken Kashmir. He received a trophy, £200 and a bottle of champagne.
Press Gazette 12 June

Right: Bridge Gate pedestrianisation. Above: the controversial cobbles - see discussion forum 28 May

Hebden Bridge MP, Chris McCafferty has made national news coverage with her call for John Prescott's departure. "It's clear to me that many women voters in particular are very unhappy that John is still in post. It does seem as though he is benefiting - not to say being rewarded - when he clearly has breached, perhaps in some people's eyes, a moral code." (Guardian 30 May)
"I don't believe we are going to be able to re-engage those women while they have a perception that the party is rewarding someone who's had an affair with an employee," she told the BBC's World at One programme. 29 May

Cllr Betty Ward of Mytholmroyd elected Mayor of Hebden Royd Council at Mytholmroyd Community Centre - more

Green Fly Plague
A green plague has swept across the district, threatening young plants and pestering people outdoors. Swarms have been spotted as far afield as Halifax, Ogden Water and Hebden Bridge, according to the Courier. It is ideal weather for the greenfly at the moment.There are millions and have been described as a green fog. 17 May

Better quality of life in the regions, eg Hebden Bridge
Graduates who resist the lure of the capital can find a better quality of life in the regions, says Hazel Davis in the Guardian. Katy Black, 26, is someone who wasn't prepared to make geographical sacrifices for her career. "I don't think it ever crossed my mind to move to London," she says. "My home town of Hebden Bridge is within easy reach of Leeds and Manchester and I have always thought that the north of England has a lot going for it anyway." More Saturday May 13, 2006

Parliament
Chris McCafferty MP asked Hilary Benn, Secretary of State, Department for International Development if he will ensure that HIV prevention programmes - particularly those that link HIV/AIDS with sexual and reproductive health and rights programmes, services for young people and the empowerment of women - are re-emphasised at the forthcoming United Nations General Assembly special session in New York? He replied that he would, saying that we have to look at the fight against AIDS and the promotion of reproductive and sexual health together, because the two are entirely integral. 10 May

Tories use Yellow Bus
The Conservatives have called for the school bus system to be expanded to cut down on traffic on the roads, and are using Hebden Bridge's Yellow Bus as an example. "Yellow buses are being used in various parts of the UK, including an £18.7m scheme in West Yorkshire. There, one bus cut 25,000 car journeys a year in the Hebden Bridge area." From BBC News.
4 May

House fire in Charlestown Sunday evening, 23rd April The house was empty when the fire started, but neighbours had to be evacuated. Fire staff think it was unlikely that the house had smoke alarms fitted.

Royal Exchange: new play, written by Linda Marshall-Griffiths of Hebden Bridge
The play is about a community bereft of its (slate) industry, which has been turned into a museum. So all the men in the town who were employed by the quarry have now become tour guides, if they're working at all, and feel completely emasculated by that. More
21st April

Bridge Gate closes to traffic - 20 April
Pedestrians can just squeeze through

"towns like Hebden Bridge some of the most desirable in Yorkshire"
. . . . the regeneration opportunities for the Taff Valley. Canals in similar post-industrial and hilly terrain have survived in the Pennines, in northern England. Their quaint old locks, graceful bridges and tranquil towpaths attract millions of visitors every year and have made towns like Hebden Bridge some of the most desirable in Yorkshire.
National Website of Wales 15 April

Ted Hughes Centre
"The village of Mytholmroyd in West Yorkshire's Calder Valley, where Ted Hughes caught his first pike, went rabbiting with his brother and gazed up at the hills, is to build a visitor centre in his name." More from the Indie thanks to the Mytholmroyd Net.
5 April

Official: Market Street choked with fumes
Calderdale Council has declared Market Street, Hebden Bridge an Air Quality Management Area after nitrogen dioxide levels – spewed out by heavy, slow moving traffic - exceeded Government limits - one of just three in Calderdale. Now it must act to tackle the problem. Peter Ramsdale, the council's head of environmental health, said in a report to the cabinet: "The Environment Act 1995 requires Calderdale to take action when it expects that it will not meet the Government's annual average air quality objective for nitrogen dioxide." See discussion item
Wednesday, April 5, 2006

Bahrain boat tragedy: Hebden Bridge painter and decorator among victims.
Stephen Grady, 42, from Hebden Bridge, West Yorkshire leaves a son Billy, two, and a wife Stephanie who is pregnant. Courier article
Monday, April 3, 2006

Lottery award to go Hebden Bridge
"In Darwen there's good news that the council is to get £1million from the Heritage Lottery Fund to restore key buildings in the central area of the town and give it the sort of character and appeal that a councillor has compared to that of Hebden Bridge."
Lancashire Evening Telegraph, Thursday, March 30, 2006

Above: Producer Gaby Fisher checks the sound while interviewer Richard Uridge talks with Ann Kilbey of the HB History Society. More info

And finally, snow falls in Hebden Bridge
Friday, March 3, 2006

8mb fast broadband
We understand this will be available to our area (both Hebden Bridge and Calder Valley exchanges) from the end of March. Local broadband cooperative, 3-C have told the Hebden Bridge Web that they will be making 8mb connections available to its members as soon as the local exchanges are upgraded.
Friday, March 3, 2006

TownTalk - latest news from Hebden Royd Town Council

COUNCIL tax bills in Calderdale will go up this year by 4.9 per cent. As discussed previously in the Hebden Bridge Web, to date Hebden Royd Town council has been funding security cameras. The cost will now be taken over by Calderdale. Councillors took six hours to reach agreement at Wednesday night's budget meeting and three times Mayor John Williamson used his casting vote to support Conservative spending cuts.
Friday, March 3, 2006

Arthur Callard obituary from Mat Hilton February 27, 2006

CALDERDALE THROW OUT
MILL POND PLANS

Calderdale join Hebden Royd in rejecting Mill Pond plans 10 Feb Background

Local MP Welcomes Shake-up of Coroner's Service
Changes Prompted by Shipman Case
Calder Valley MP Chris McCafferty has welcomed Government plans for major changes to the Coroner's service. The changes have been prompted by concerns arising from the inquiry into the murders carried out by former Todmorden GP Harold Shipman, but also address problems faced by families in other cases.
Wednesday, February 8, 2006

RAILWAYS
more carriages for Calder Valley trains, welcomed by MP - 8 Feb

Six Hebden Bridge FireFighters quit
- concerns grow for the future of the Hebden Bridge Fire Station
Friday, February 3, 2006

Any Questions comes to Mytholmroyd
"ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE" - says Bernard Ingham of those who advocate renewable energy. More info

FORMER ADULT EDUCATION CENTRE
to more flats - plans submitted
See planning watch
Thursday, January 26, 2006

Four Suspended from Fire Crew
FOUR part-time firemen have been suspended from Hebden Bridge station and an inquiry is under way into alleged irregularities. More info
Friday, January 20, 2006

Secondary school league tables
GCSEs: very good results for Calder High
Thursday, January 19, 2006

FESTIVAL OPEN MEETING
on Tuesday, 24th January - more info

Midgehole Road closed for extensive tree felling and pruning
- photos and info
16 Jan

Sylvia - BBC2, 14 Jan
Sylvia Plath is buried in Hepstonstall.
For extensive discussion of the film see Sylvia Plath Forum

HEBDEN ROYD COUNCIL BUILDING
may be sold off - 9 Jan

Town centre - 9 Jan
ROAD CHAOS FOR TEN WEEKS
The traffic island is being removed, pavements widened and lights modernised. There is single line traffic on the main Burnley Road and Bridge Gate is closed along with part of Crown Street

Frogs and toads!
The Upper Calderdale Wildlife Network are looking for volunteers in Hebden Bridge to help do counts of frogs and toads. Advice will be given as to how to do a 'proper' count, and all information will help protect wildlife and possibly protect and improve local habitat. If you can spare some time please e-mail Matt and he'll pass your name on to them.
Tuesday, January 3, 2006

News in Brief: January - June 2006

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