Ossett News Posted July 17, 2022 Report Share Posted July 17, 2022 Week ending Saturday 16th July 2022 We need to be very careful next week with the potential for extremely hot weather. Please will you keep your eyes on the vulnerable, children, your neighbours, and pets. If the weather forecasts turn out to be correct, Sunday through to Tuesday could be very difficult times for lots of people. Please keep safe and take no risks! Please can we all ensure that everyone understands the dangers of swimming in open cold water. Horbury Lagoons, close by rivers and canals, can all look very appealing in hot weather. There has already been a water related death in Wakefield this week, we do not want any more. It would not surprise us, if over the next few days, our local Water Company issue advice on how to reduce water consumption. There could even be hosepipe bans over the next few weeks. Watch this space. COVID has not gone away, it is on the rise across the Wakefield district and is showing no signs of going away anytime soon. Councils and the NHS across the whole country have a massive backlog of outstanding work. Wakefield is no different. With rising sickness rates of people with COVID, these backlogs are showing no chance of easing, anytime soon. Around 12 months ago I reported the damaged fences on the Manorfield Estate and on the A642 Horbury By-pass. The reasons for delay in repairs are down to the lack of contractors wishing to do the work. The good news is that the fence on Manorfields has now been repaired. Hopefully the one on the by-pass will be completed soon. Deb and Darren have chased the work this very week. On Monday I had a walk around Horbury Bridge and had a good look at the new red QR code plaque, installed by Horbury Civic Society. The red plaques celebrate a person and the blue ones a building. This red plaque celebrates the fact The Reverend Sabine Baring-Gould lived in Horbury Bridge between 1864 and 1867. Visit the Horbury Civic Society’s website for full details of where all the red and blue QR code plaques are located. It was also noted that the much needed and recently installed ‘Dead-end’ or ‘No Through Road’ road sign has been installed; to deter HGV drivers from entering The Avenues housing estate when using sat nav, for some unknown reason it shows a way out, that does not exist! Earlier in the week I called down to see Paul, the owner of Affordable Autos in Horbury Bridge. Paul is also a very active member of the Horbury Junior Football Team. Paul and his team members helped at the Horbury Craft & Street Fayre, with the installation of the 63-market stalls. In return, they earned themselves a donation of £250 towards supporting their great football club. The Old Chapel on Tithe Barn Street has had its roof removed and the building has been made safe for now. To the best of our knowledge, the owner has no plans for any future work. We will be making enquires to see what can be done with the building shell, but we have a sneaking suspicion that nothing will happen in the short term. Whilst in Horbury Library on Saturday morning, we noticed a small poster giving information regarding broadband suppliers. In short, the information was targeted to those households who are on benefits and need broadband access. BT & Virgin Media have broadband packages at what appear to be lower than advertised prices. If you are interested and would like more information, please use Google to search for ‘Ofcom Social Tariffs’ There is a new programme of events for Horbury and Ossett Libraries for the summer months. Details can be found by visiting Wakefield Library pages on Facebook or by calling in at either of our great local libraries. Each week Darren and Deb receive a list of all planning applications that have been made across the whole of the Wakefield District. This week there were two very interesting applications for Horbury, both affecting land just off the town centre. Planning application 22/01363/TEL – this is for the installation of a 5G mobile telephone mast on the corner of Westfield Road and Highfield Road. The approximate location is by the existing communications box, close to the raised flower bed where the Christmas Tree is located. In applications related to infrastructure, local Councils have very few powers to stop the planning application. However, that does not stop residents from lodging their support or objections on the Planning website – see below for more information. Planning application 22/00733/OUT – this is to redevelop and build on the car park behind the library. The application states – “Outline application for the extensions and renovation work to existing buildings on site, extending and improving the existing office provision and partial change of use to E(b) Cafe and C3 Residential flats. The scheme also includes the construction of a new detached office and leisure building including an external rooftop pool, and various public realm improvements (outline application with Landscaping as reserved matter).” In short, the new owners want to create some new office space, a gym and spa complex, whilst preserving the old contamination unit and its listed building status. FYI the contamination unit, is the only building that is listed. This application does not affect the Library or the Old Town Hall. If you wish to comment, support or object to either of these applications, you can do so by visiting - https://planning.wakefield.gov.uk/online-applications/search.do?action=simple&searchType=Application or in writing to – Wakefield Council, Planning Department, Wakefield One, Wakefield, WF1 2EB. Whether you use the website or write, please ensure you use the reference number shown above. As we all know Horbury & Ossett are very old towns and have some very aged infrastructure. Broadband is very slow in places, and we know that just off Horbury town centre speeds can be as fast 2 to 6 Mega Bytes per second (MBpS). To the best of our knowledge. Openreach and Virgin Media have no plans to improve broadband speeds across our two towns. Darren & Deb will be contacting both companies and asking them for a timescale to see improvements which would bring parts of Horbury & Ossett up to the national broadband speed average of circa 30 MBpS. Speaking of modern infrastructure, Horbury has a number of these little green boxes. They belong to the gas distribution company and contain gas stopcocks. We have asked that they be removed or replaced with modern and secure units. Watch this space. As the hot weather continues Deb was out on Saturday afternoon tending to the care of our recently planted Jubilee Trees in Carr Lodge Park and Junction Lane in South Ossett. Thank you, Deb, – I am sure the trees were grateful for this water. Please keep safe and take care. Darren & Deb Working for our Communities, throughout the whole year! View the full article Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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