Plans to improve the A629 between Halifax and Huddersfield have taken a step forward with the appointment of John Sisk & Son as contractor for Phase 1b of the project – the Calder and Hebble junction.

Following a tender exercise, construction company John Sisk & Son has been appointed to carry out the construction work of the A629 Phase 1b – a £27m project which is fully funded by the West Yorkshire Combined Authority through the West Yorkshire Plus Transport Fund. As part of the design and build scheme, Sisk and Son has appointed consultants WSP to work on the design elements

The improvement plans focus on the key areas of Huddersfield Road, Stainland Road and Wakefield Road. A new link road will be created via a bridge spanning the Calder and Hebble Navigation to a roundabout on Stainland Road. The project will include facilities for pedestrians and cyclists and a section of new northbound bus lane on Stainland Road.

A new signal-controlled junction at the interchange of A629 / Jubilee Road and an improved approach lane will also be introduced, as well as landscaping along Stainland Road and additional access points to the canal tow path.

When complete, the scheme will deliver improved access to Copley, Sowerby Bridge and Halifax and aims to improve journey times between Huddersfield and Halifax by up to 30%.

Calderdale Council’s Cabinet Member for Regeneration and Strategy, Cllr Jane Scullion, said:

“Phase 1b of the A629 project represents the largest civil engineering project Calderdale will have undertaken for several decades. It will see the landscape around the Calder and Hebble junction completely transformed.

“The new link road bridge and other improvements will make a real difference to traffic flow in the area, subsequently improving air quality and reducing ‘rat running’ on smaller village roads in the area. The landscape around the area will also be improved with the demolition of the derelict former Punchbowl Pub, making a real difference to the gateway to Halifax.

“I’m pleased that a contractor has now been appointed for the project, allowing initial work to begin this year.”

Cllr Kim Groves, Chair of the West Yorkshire Combined Authority’s Transport Committee, said:

“We are pleased to be working in partnership with Calderdale Council on this scheme, which will make it easier for people to walk, cycle and use public transport, as well as improving journey times for people travelling by car.

“The Combined Authority is committed to leading the economic recovery from the pandemic and schemes such as this one will play a vital role.”

Preparation work will begin in early this year and it is anticipated construction will start in the summer. Completion of the Phase 1b scheme is expected to be late 2022.

The A629 improvement programme has received funding through the West Yorkshire-plus Transport Fund, and the Leeds City Region Growth Deal – a £1 billion package of Government investment through the West Yorkshire Combined Authority and Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership (LEP) to accelerate growth and create jobs across Leeds City Region.

For more information on the West Yorkshire Plus Transport Fund programme in Calderdale, visit www.calderdalenextchapter.co.uk

Further explanations are below about the groups involved:

West Yorkshire Combined Authority

West Yorkshire Combined Authority works in partnership with local councils and businesses to ensure that everyone in the region benefits from a strong, successful economy and a modern, accessible transport network. By championing the region’s interests nationally and internationally, the Combined Authority secures the investment to deliver better transport and housing, help businesses to grow and create jobs. For more information visit www.westyorks-ca.gov.uk.

Local Growth Fund 

Local Enterprise Partnerships are playing a vital role in driving forward economic growth across the country, helping to build a country that works for everyone.  

That’s why by 2021 Government will have invested over £12bn through the Local Growth Fund, allowing LEPs to use their local knowledge to get all areas of the country firing on all cylinders.  

Analysis has shown that every £1 of Local Growth Fund invested could generate £4.81 in benefits. 

• There are 38 LEPs covering the whole of England.
• The government has awarded £9.1bn in three rounds of Growth Deals to local areas to drive economic growth.
• LEPs are investing in a wide range of projects informed by detailed analysis of the most pressing economic needs in each of their areas, including transport, skills, business support, broadband, innovation and flood defences.

Northern Powerhouse

• The Northern Powerhouse is a key aspect of this Government’s approach to addressing the productivity gap in the North and ensuring a stronger, more sustainable economy for all parts of the UK.
• The government has awarded £3.4bn in three rounds of Growth Deals across the Northern Powerhouse.
• 17 Enterprise Zones across the North have already attracted £1.3bn of private sector investments and helped attract nearly 9,000 jobs since 2012.

About John Sisk & Son

John Sisk & Son is an innovative, international, civil engineering  and construction business with long term vision and who celebrated 160 years in operation in 2019.

Sisk is active across a range of sectors and regions with offices in St Albans, Solihull, Warrington and Bristol. They deliver projects and programmes in key sectors such as Highways, Infrastructure, Rail, Marine and Land Remediation. They are also active in other sectors including, Data and Technology, Healthcare, Pharmaceutical and Life Sciences, Commercial, Residential, Retail, Industrial, Leisure, Education and Energy.

Sisk is Ireland’s No1 provider of construction services with extensive operations across Ireland and mainland Europe and has the track record, scale and capacity to successfully undertake large, complex, critical infrastructure and multidisciplinary programmes. They are recognised by global clients as world leaders in safe delivery.

As we look ahead with hope in 2021, residents are invited to share their views of the borough in a short survey, to help shape how we work together towards the Vision2024 for Calderdale.

Amidst the challenges of COVID-19, we remain committed to the Vision of Calderdale being a place where you can realise your potential, whoever you are and whether your voice has been heard or unheard in the past.

The Vision2024 themes of kindness and resilience, talent and enterprise and distinctiveness have become even more significant during the pandemic, and it is important that we build on these in the year ahead and in the run-up to Calderdale’s 50^th birthday in 2024.

The Council has launched its annual Vision2024 Calderdale Residents Perception Survey to gather local people’s views of our place and progress towards the shared Vision. The responses will shape where we want to be by 2024 and how we are going to get there.

The Council is asking Calderdale residents aged 16 and over to spend a few minutes answering questions about the borough’s key qualities. The survey can be completed at www.calderdale.gov.uk/survey/vision2024-public-survey by 11pm on Sunday 31 January 2021 and has also been sent to members of the Council’s Talkback Citizens’ Panel. The results are due be published on the Calderdale Conversations page on the Council’s website in March.

Talkback members will also soon receive a survey to share their views on the COVID-19 vaccination, to help inform the rollout across Calderdale.

Cllr Tim Swift, Calderdale Council’s Leader, said:

“Over 1000 people in Calderdale took part in our Vision2024 survey last January. 2020 changed a lot of things for many of us, but the responses were still really valuable and we’d love to hear from even more of you this year.

“Achieving the Vision together is still important to us as the pandemic continues, and your views will be key to reviving our borough.”

The survey looks at what it’s like to live in Calderdale and people’s opinions on opportunities for young people and businesses, flooding preparations, volunteering, community spirit, culture and heritage, creativity and the COVID-19 response.

In the 2020 survey, around three quarters of respondents thought Calderdale was a great place to live and 86% saw it as an attractive place to visit. More than half thought it was a kind and resilient place. Around 40% of people had done some form of volunteering.

To find out more about the Vision2024 for Calderdale, visit www.calderdale.gov.uk/vision

To share your views and ideas on a range of issues in Calderdale, join more than 650 members of Talkback, Calderdale Citizens’ Panel, by visiting www.calderdale.gov.uk/v2/council/consultation-and-feedback/calderdale-citizens-panel

It’s the perfect time of the year to be enjoying a piece of parkin and all the better if it’s home baked. I’ve been visiting Café No 5 recently and have really enjoyed Angie’s food over the years so when I asked her to share her top secret, classified and favourite recipe of the Yorkshire Classic traybake she kindly said ‘I’ve a lovely Sticky Parkin recipe that’s nice and easy and has been passed around the family, it’s Nana Jean’s Sticky Parkin’. Let us know how you get on with it!

First of all, turn the oven temperature to 160 Celsius or gas mark 4.

Then grease an 8 x 10” tin and line with baking parchment.

Collect the following ingredients:
8oz SR flour
4oz sugar
2 level tsp bicarbonate of soda
Half teaspoon salt
3 tsp dry ginger
4 oz butter
4 & half tablespoons golden syrup
1 egg

Instructions
Give it a bit of elbow grease when you mix all the ingredients together
Then add 250ml of boiling milk.
Keep on mixing until the batter is smooth.
Spoon into the greased and lined tin.
Then bake in the middle of the oven for approx 25 mins.
Once baked through, cool and then store in an airtight tin for a couple of days (if you can), it’ll go sticky and the perfect texture.

Serve it with custard, cream or enjoy it just as it is with a cup of tea.

Café No 5 offer take-outs, outside catering for business meeting and Funeral Teas.
Call 01422 399595

The November edition of The Skircoat Green Directory & The Halifax Directory is being delivered safely during Lockdown 2.0

During this lockdown phase, most of our customers/advertisers are either still open or are trading via click & collect, offering a delivery service OR you can visit their website and buy direct or have a browse through their products/services.

Let’s help our local businesses and buy local.

www.skircoatgreendirectory.co.uk
www.halifaxdirectory.co.uk

If you would like to know more about advertising in either of our magazines then please call 01422 646400 or email [email protected]

Our December magazine stays in homes until the end of January, so all bookings have two months exposure for the price of one when you advertise in the Dec/Jan combined edition!

Dwell Time is currently recording podcasts for our Dwell Awhile series in partnership with the Yorkshire Visual Arts Network. These podcasts revisit conversations with artists interviewed for my ‘Resilience is Futile’ writer residency. ‘Resilience is Futile’ was a YVAN and Corridor 8 collaboration exploring the uncritical term ‘resilience’ within the Yorkshire visual arts networks. I mapped out a network of artists recommended as ‘resilient’ by their peers. With my Dwell Time co-curators Vanessa Haley and Lenny Szrama, I’m talking to the artists about how they have been since our initial conversations in 2019, and how Covid-19 and lockdown have impacted their practices and mental wellbeing. The podcasts will be published in October 2020 on the Dwell Time Press and YVAN websites.

Dwell Time has also partnered with designer Ashleigh Armitage to rebrand and produce graphics for the podcasts. Ashleigh is a designer working within the arts, cultural and educational sectors and is part of Dust Collective.

Dwell Time Press: http://dwelltimepress.wordpress.com
YVAN: http://www.yvan.org.uk

Through my mental health research I have been reading The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel Van Der Kolk, attended the Collective Trauma Summit 2020 and studying a second Level 2 Certificate in Understanding Mental Health. I am also part of the Creative Well programme run by the Culture, Health & Wellbeing Alliance for arts and wellbeing practitioners. This research feeds into my practice as a curator for Dwell Time, board member for YVAN looking at the impact of Covid-19 on artistic practice and my ongoing artistic practice ‘talking rubbish’.

‘Talking Rubbish’: So many colleagues and friends are struggling with processing thoughts and emotions into speech, and me too. What we’ve been through and going through is huge. We’re experiencing collective trauma of a pandemic on top of individual traumas. When our executive brain function is compromised through a trauma response, the speech part of our brain (Broca’s area) shuts down in part or fully as we go into flight, flight or freeze (survival) mode. Hence the terms ‘speechless’ and ‘lost for words’. The conversations we are having about the impact of Covid-19 on art practice are diverse and multifaceted but this impact on dialogue is really critical and the focus of a new project I hope to update on next time.

Keep talking. Dwell Time has a directory of mental health support services if you are struggling: https://dwelltimepress.wordpress.com/support/

Alice Bradshaw www.alicebradshaw.co.uk
Facebook www.facebook.com/alicebradshawartist
Instagram www.instagram.com/alicebradshaw.co.uk
Twitter twitter.com/alicebradshaw

Last month I wrote about Rev Coulthurst, Halifax’s vicar 1790-1817, and his support for the abolition of the dreadful Slave Trade. This month I introduce his successor.
Samuel Knight was born on 9th March 1759, a younger son of Titus Knight and his second wife Elizabeth Mellor. A sickly baby, six days later he was presented by his parents at the Parish Church font. There, the vicar, Rev. George Legh, initially refused to baptise Samuel, believing he had actually died before being placed in his arms. Little did the vicar of Halifax imagine that the infant he nearly excluded from baptism was one day destined to occupy his own position!

Titus Knight, originally a collier, was soon to become a Congregationalist, and went on to found Square Chapel. From a young age, Samuel showed a tendency to religious study, and although brought up a dissenter, he leaned towards the Established Church. At twelve he was placed at Hipperholme Grammar School, returning home after two years for private study, before again proceeding to Hipperholme as an assistant to the Master there. In due course, Samuel was noticed by George Burnett, a founder of the Elland Clerical Education Society. This group of evangelical clergymen was started in order to fund the university education of poor but gifted young men who otherwise could never have trained for the ministry. With the assistance of this group, aged twenty, Samuel went up to Magdalen College, Cambridge, where he excelled at Literature, the Classics, and Mathematics.

Finally he graduated Master of Arts. At Cambridge, various students combined to hold private evangelical religious services, and it was through these that Samuel came to know William Wilberforce. The two men held similar views, especially regarding the abolition of slavery.
Having taken Holy Orders, Samuel served initially as a curate in north Lincolnshire; there he married and had a family. In April 1798, Samuel was nominated by Rev. Coulthurst, vicar of Halifax, to the living of the new Holy Trinity Church, just erected at his own expense; and the Knight family moved to Halifax in July. They settled at Blackwall Lodge, and Samuel proved an ideal and popular minister at the new church, also taking many pupils at his vicarage. Although usually boys, these included Anne Lister of Shibden Hall, whom he taught Greek and mathematics, and who greatly respected him.

In December 1817, his patron, vicar Coulthurst, died suddenly. Almost immediately, a petition signed by many local parishioners was presented to the Earl of Liverpool, then Prime Minister, requesting Samuel Knight’s appointment to the vacancy at Halifax. This was an extraordinary occurrence, and almost unprecedented. Initially, Liverpool disapproved, as it seemed to infringe the Crown’s patronage, and – if accepted – might establish an undesirable precedent. But, swayed specifically by the influence of Wilberforce, and supported by the recommendation of the Archbishop of York, the Prime Minister waived his objections; and on 29th December 1817, Samuel received formal notice of his appointment as vicar of Halifax.

Samuel’s pastoral and other qualifications in office were many; he is described as “a Christian minister – an exemplary churchman – an able scholar – a sound divine – a kind neighbour, and a truly good and valuable member of society.”
In 1823 the vicar’s health began to fail, and on Christmas Day 1825, he preached his last sermon. A year later, his sons – both vicars – were summoned to his bedside, and he was attended by Dr Kenny, a character some will recall from “Gentleman Jack.” Samuel died on 7th January 1827; he was buried in the chancel of the Parish Church, though today his tombstone may be seen near the Minster’s nave-altar dais. In the north-west chapel is his fine wall-mounted memorial. His widow Frances died in 1832.

David C Glover

Through the months of lockdown, I’ve been fortunate to have a home studio and the capacity to pick up work in between childcare. Working from home with children is by no means easy by any stretch of the imagination, but the nature of my work is I can be done in short moments of opportunity and after bedtimes.

My studio had become a depot for 3000 copies of Dwell Time Issue 2 over lockdown, and recently I moved the publication stacks into Dwell Time Central in Huddersfield which had been closed and inaccessible over the initial lockdown. My studio has now become a working space again and I also cleared a hoard of packing materials into storage to make room for a sofa. The packing materials double up as den and sculptural material for my children and occasionally infiltrate the house as elaborate cat climbing frames and houses the children make for them.

Whilst Dwell Time Central had been forced to close, it now has the potential to open up with risk assessments and shop-like safety protocols in place. Like many businesses and art projects alike, the uncertainty of what may happen in the future poses some significant challenges and questions about how to operate. Just before official UK lockdown we took the decision to postpone our Issue 2 launch and we launched in July with an online film screening programme and postal distribution in lieu of the launch and venue-based distribution we had planned. https://dwelltimepress.wordpress.com/issue2/

Along with the decision to postpone our Issue 2 launch, Dwell Time publicised an open call for responses to Covid-19. This open call has been our most responded to to-date with over 400 individual contributions from across the world. Some very prominent themes of isolation, loneliness, grief, loss and hope resonate, whilst varied personal responses show a broad spectrum of unique experiences within the collective experience. Our plan is to produce Issue 3 from these responses in both print and digital. The open call is currently live and we welcome contributions from everyone. https://dwelltimepress.wordpress.com/c19-edition/

Dwell Time has also been commissioned by Yorkshire Visual Arts Network (YVAN) to produce a series of podcasts interviewing other artists about their current experiences of lockdown, how their practice has adapted and survived and any challenges they face including mental health which is Dwell Time’s focus. This is an exciting research and development project for us which looks at forming qualitative research into the impact of Covid-19 on visual artists in Yorkshire.

Part of my own ongoing R&D is studying mental health and I completed a Level 2 in Mental Health Awareness during lockdown. I’m now enrolled on another Level 2 focussing on children and young people’s mental wellbeing and am also undertaking free, short courses via Futurelearn from Kings College, Anglia Ruskin and Manchester Metropolitan University.

Lastly, Art Lab has also survived the pandemic and adapted to the new mode of zoom meetings. Whilst we miss the in-person nature of Art Lab at Dean Clough, the positive aspect of conducting meetings online is we can talk with artists from Mexico and London without the time and expense of travel. Art Lab has become critical to my own survival as an artist in discussing art practice directly with other artists and the reason I initially set up the group in January 2019. Artists are continuing to practice despite the challenges, in solidarity and in response to our ever changing world. The support networks we form are increasingly valuable. These meetings continue to take place on the first Monday of the month at the slightly later time of 8pm https://www.facebook.com/groups/deancloughartlab/

Alice Bradshaw www.alicebradshaw.co.uk
Facebook www.facebook.com/alicebradshawartist
Instagram www.instagram.com/alicebradshaw.co.uk
Twitter twitter.com/alicebradshaw

Following my graduation from Tante Marie Culinary Academy, Woking I had the pleasure of working as a private chalet chef in France several years ago and my Bakewell Tart became a firm favourite of my weekly afternoon tea says Alasdair Nunn of RachAls Kitchen.

I think it’s the marriage of the rich, crumbly pastry and the sweet, buttery almond filling combined with the familiarity of strawberry jam which makes this classic tart a real winner!

Makes a 26cm Tart or 6 Small “Individual” Tarts – Feeds Approx. 12 Pate Sucree Pastry:

300g Plain Flour
100g Caster Sugar
150g Butter
4 Egg Yolks

To make the pastry firstly preheat your oven to 200’C / Gas Mark 6 (180’C Fan).

Cream the butter and sugar together with a wooden spoon in a bowl for approx. 5 minutes or until well combined.

Then beat in the egg yolks (one at a time) until fully incorporated into the mixture.

Sift in the flour and mix with your spoon until the mixture comes together as a ball of dough.

Tip the pastry out onto a floured work surface and knead briefly until smooth. Roll out the dough and then carefully place it into a lightly buttered and floured 26cm tart case.

Push the dough into the corners of the case, prick with a fork (all over to ensure the dough doesn’t rise) and then line the pastry case with parchment paper, fill with baking beans and blind bake for 15 minutes. Remove the beans and parchment paper and bake for a further 5 minutes to ensure you don’t have a soggy bottom!

Remove from the oven and cool.

Bakewell Filling:

200g Butter 200g Sugar
200g Ground Almonds
3/4 Tbsp Strawberry/Raspberry Jam 4 Eggs – Beaten
50g Plain Flour
100g Chopped Glacé Cherries 100g Flaked Almonds
1 Tbsp Icing Sugar / Water

With an electric whisk, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Slowly add the eggs and then add the flour and almonds. Mix well.

To Finish:

Spread the jam and cherries onto the cooled pastry case. Dollop the filling on top of the jam and cherry mixture and spread evenly. Sprinkle over the almonds.

Bake for approx. 30 minutes at 180’C (Fan) – If the flaked almonds start to brown cover the tart with foil.

Meanwhile combine the icing sugar with a few drops of cold water and transfer to a piping bag.

Once baked, allow to cool and then finish with a drizzle of icing sugar – Serve with a fruit coulis if desired.

All over the district, schools and businesses have changed the uses of science labs and factories to produce Personal Protection Equipment. Crossley Heath, Ryburn and Brooksbank are amongst schools providing masks to Calderdale Royal Hospital and local care homes.

A bespoke tailoring firm in Huddersfield changed the line of speciality from suits to masks to keep the employees and suppliers in paid work. Helen Bailey, Managing Director of Masks UK, explained‘Business slowed down rapidly long before the UK hit lockdown due to our international clients closing down tailoring shops around the world and, of course, suit clients here in the UK, only attending essential appointments. It took a couple of weeks from idea to going live online. I guess we just looked at what we had at our finger tips and went from there. The response has been incredible!’

Helen’s non-medical mask business is super popular online. Helen explained ‘We’ve delivered to some existing clients in Norway and various tailoring connections around the World. We had an Australian purchase on the website, that’s as far a field we can go!! It’s an ever growing number but I’d say we’re close to 500k masks so far (12th May 20). The masks use a fabric commonly used in sportswear: the outer layer uses cotton nanotechnology for ultra water resistance, and the inner layers are breathable and moisture-wicking cotton muslin cloth.

Using a re-usable mask helps to reduce the volume of medical masks being used by non-medical people. There are many patterns online for you to try making your own (see one below). The World Health Organisation states (31/05/2020) ‘there is not enough evidence for or against the use of masks (medical or other) in healthy individuals in the wider community’.

However, if you choose to use a mask, here are the main precautions to follow:
1. Clean your hands before touching your clean mask.
2. Position the mask so it covers your nose, mouth and chin.
3. Do not touch the main mask while you are wearing it.
4. After use, take off the mask with clean hands; removing by the ties. Do not touch the main mask on either side.
5. Wash the mask at a high temperature.
6. Clean hands after touching the mask.