Ossett News Posted December 17, 2023 Report Share Posted December 17, 2023 🎅Week ending Saturday 16th December 2023🎅 Firstly, let’s start by wishing everyone in Horbury & South Ossett and those who read our blog who live further afield, a Wonderful, Happy and Merry Christmas. We also hope that 2024 is good for you and your family and that 2023 has not been too bad. This is our last Weekly Blog of the year; we will return with our regular updates from the 2nd week in January 2024. However, we are still here over the Christmas & New Year break. If you wish to contact us, please do so. You may have seen in the media, on TV News or read online that several local authorities up and down the country are experiencing major financial problems, with some of them declaring bankruptcy. The technical term for this is that the Council issues a ‘Section 114 Notice’. So far, 6 Councils have issued at 114 Notice including Europe’s biggest Council, Birmingham. According to some, up to 26 local councils may be on the edge of bankruptcy. Wakefield Council is in a very strong financial position, as our finances have been manged very successfully for many years. Yes, we are facing cuts to our overall budget, as The Government in Westminster has cut our budget again this year. We are having to find over £35.6 million worth of saving to be able to balance our books, as we must do each year. If you would like to know more about Wakefield Council’s budget statement, please follow this link - https://yourdistrict.wakefield.gov.uk/wakefield-council-sets-out-responsible-approach-to-2024-25-budget/ It is also worth bearing in mind that Wakefield Council has one of the lowest Council Tax levels in West Yorkshire. The consultation period for our two road improvement schemes on Sowood Bends and Bank Street have now closed. Early in the New Year we’ll update you on what happens next and hopefully some start dates for the improvement works to begin. We often get asked about stretches of roads, mainly on new housing developments, about potholes or other issues. As a general rule of thumb, these roads, pavements and streetlighting do not belong to the Council. They are known as Unadopted Highways. This means that they belong either to the developer of to the householder. The adoption of a new road can take many years to achieve. Often the road is not built to the correct standard or has been left unfinished by the developer. No Council in the UK will adopt a road that is not finished or built to the correct standard. On the subject of roads, you may be aware of the street light outage on Sowood Bends. This is due to an electrical fault, which we believe is underground. We are awaiting the power supply company to carry out the works. They usually take around 21 days from the first report, to making an effective repair. This could well be delayed due to the Christmas break. We have been continuing to report issues with pavements across the Ward. Over the last couple of weeks, we have been able to get some work completed on Fairfield Road. More will be done throughout 2024. Watch this space for more details. Gwen has reported the flooding on the footpath between Baptist Lane, underneath the M1 and through to Wakefield, known as Footpath Number 29. The result of this, is that the footpath has been temporarily closed and reported to the Environment Agency (EA). It is believed that there is a blocked culvert, which it appears has not been maintained. We hope to have more information in the next few days, and we will give an update via our Facebook page. Once the culvert is unblocked, we will arrange for the footpath to be reopened and the footpaths cleared and swept of flood detritus. On Wednesday, Deb and Darren met with Cllr Jordan Bryan and Andy Nicholls both from Rural Ward. The purpose of our meeting was to try and identify a suitable location for the proposed new crossing point. We hope it will be somewhere close to the restaurant and the viaduct, but we will confirm the actual location and crossing type in the New Year. We have made several visits to our local Food Bank this week. The highlight of the week was to present them with a donation of £250 from our trade union UNITE the Union. UNITE supports 3 Food Banks across the Wakefield District, ours in South Ossett, St George’s on Lupset and Airedale Food Bank in Castleford. That is £750 across the 3 centres to help those in need over the Christmas and New Year break. A massive ‘Thank You’ to all the volunteers at all of the District’s Food Banks for their focus and determination to make a real difference. Why does one of the richest counties on the planet, need so many Food Banks? The ginnel that runs from behind the Kings Arms on Twitch Hill, also known as Church Lane, has been closed. This is due to a wall collapse, which now needs a major repair. The wall does not belong to the Council and is privately owned. The issue has been reported to the owner and hopefully they will affect a speedy repair, which will allow the footpath to reopen. On Wednesday Darren, and on Thursday Deb and Gwen attended the Senior Citizens’ Support Group (SCSG) Christmas Lunch at The Capri Restaurant in Horbury Bridge. Each day, around 100 members had a wonderful 2 course lunch and entertainment, to kick off their festive season. This is the second year that the group have been to The Capri and had a wonderful time. If you know of anyone that would benefit from joining SCSG, why not point them towards their website – www.scsg.co.uk or give their office a call on 01924 565859 early in the New Year. They will be made most welcome and they may well enjoy themselves. On Thursday evening, Darren attended the final Horbury Dining Club for 2023. Each month we visit a restaurant in Horbury and surrounding area and enjoy a great night out with good food. The December meal is always a restaurant slightly further afield in Wakefield, this year was Ichmela, a Turkish Restaurant on the Bull Ring. On Tuesday evening at Horbury Civic Society’s AGM, the award for Horbury’s Best Restaurant, as agreed by the Horbury Dining Club was made. This year’s winner was Cinnamon Lounge at Horbury Bridge. Sammy the owner collected his award. Well done to all of the restaurants we visited during 2023, and we’ll see you again in 2024. Full details of the other awards given can be found on Horbury Civic Society’s Facebook page or website. If you need entertainment on Boxing Day, why not go to the pantomime at Horbury WMC? The Wizard of Oz for one-day only. See posters or visit their Facebook page for more information. Finally for this week and year, we attended the Official Opening of the latest installation in the Redbox Gallery on Friday evening. The artwork is called ‘Trunk call’ (tree trunk and type of phone call, get it?) was created by Tony Wade and Helen Thomas, two local artists. Hope you’ll visit Redbox and see how the Christmas Tree has broken through the roof of the phone box. May we wish you all Happy Christmas and a fruitful New Year. Thank you for all your help and support throughout 2023 and let’s continue to work together and continue to make a real difference. Happy Christmas and a Prosperous New Year. Darren, Deb & Gwen 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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