"Family-friendly" bonfire

The park opens at 4pm, 3rd November with lighting at 6.30pm, children's fireworks at 7pm and main firework display at 8pm.

The community bonfire is definitely back on and will be held on November 3 in Calder Holmes Park. The event which regularly attracts up to 10,000 people had originally been cancelled earlier this year due to spiralling costs and an escalation in anti social behaviour.

But the response from local businesses and the public alike gave the Round Table the motivation to reassess the whole bonfire night with the means to create a whole new feel to the event.

After a summer spent talking to the police, the council and local businesses, the community bonfire on Calder Holmes has been changed to make it a much more family orientated experience.

The event will start and end earlier and the level of security on the park will be vastly increased. Both police and a private security firm will be hired to ensure the safety of people on the park and also keep away elements intent on causing trouble.

Chairman Dr Keith Best said: “Cancelling the bonfire earlier this year was an incredibly difficult decision and if anything the decision to resurrect it was even harder.

“But we spent a great deal of effort identifying all the issues that affected last year’s event and we are confident we have addressed them all. Most important to us was to return the bonfire to being a family event with community values. People who pay to get on the park have a right to feel safe and this will be our main concern and we are going to great lengths to achieve this.”

As well as the increased security, this year’s event will see a significant downscaling of the funfair and the only rides on the park will be the ones aimed at much younger children. Dr Best added: “This is aimed at making the event much more attractive to families and less desirable to trouble makers. In addition, the decision has been made to bring in a professional catering company who are going to provide a much wider range of food and beverages on the park.

Dr Best added that the additional security had significantly increased the costs of running the annual event and Round Table members had visited local businesses during the summer to rally support.

“On the whole, we have been very pleased with the response.
All the businesses sponsoring this community event will be displaying bonfire supporter posters in the coming weeks and we wish to thank them for making the event possible,” he said. Anyone who runs a local business or is willing to make a donation or help out in any way are asked to contact Rory Wiggin on 01422 886500.

Unlit bonfire, November 2006

Previous coverage of the annual Hebden Bridge Bonfire on the Hebden Bridge Web

"Time seems to be standing still in Milltown. We've recovered from the almost unbearable excitement of bonfire night, and now there's nothing much to look forward to until next spring."
View from the Bridge by John Morrison