Ossett News Posted January 14 Report Share Posted January 14 Hello and a belated happy New Year and welcome to the second week of January 2024! It appears that the heavy rains we experienced over the last few weeks of December and into the New Year have now dried up, but in the last few days, we have had a very cold and icy blast, with more cold weather to come, or so we are told. We are often told about blocked drains, sometimes weeds and mud appears to be causing issues. More often than not the drain is not blocked, but just dry. However, a good number of drains around the older parts of the Ward, for example parts of Horbury town centre, are not actually connected to a drain network. These drains are called ‘soakaways’ and were constructed probably when the area was first built! What this means is that when there is prolonged rain, and not necessarily heavy rain, the actual drain fills up and then overflows. A good example of these can be found on Stannard Well Lane outside Carr Lodge Park and at the bottom of Twitch Hill. All we can do is wait for the water levels to subside and the weather to improve! On a real positive note, you may have seen that Reid Park has had a new swing installed. The swing is called a ‘Nest Swing’ and is great for children who have limited mobility. This swing was requested by a local resident and was funded by we 3 local Councillors. Hopefully this swing will give many children great pleasure for years to come. We have been working closely with Horbury Civic Society on a new project to install new Horbury themed street name signs across the town centre. Funding for this was secured as a joint venture by community groups led by the Civic Society. The funding is part of a Government initiative called the UKSPF – UK Shared Prosperity Funding. The Street Sign Project will be phased and hopefully, funding permitting, spread to Horbury Bridge and Horbury Junction. Here is a sample of what the road signs should look like and in future months a QR code will be added, allowing interested parties to visit a website that will give the history of the street name. The new signs are being made by a local company and should be installed over the next 2 to 3 months. There are issues with the electrical supply that powers the street lighting in parts of the Fairfield area of South Ossett. We have reported this on a couple of occasions, as it has been raised to us by residents. The power companies have a UK agreement that they can take up to 28 days to repair a fault once they have been made aware of the issue. We are awaiting the power company to sort out the issue and restore lighting to this part of South Ossett. If it was a faulty bulb, the Council would effect that repair, but they are unable to act if it is a power supply issue. Late last year, we planted 4 rooted Christmas trees across the Ward. Two in South Ossett, one in Horbury Bridge and one in Horbury. We have funding to plant another two trees, before Spring. One new site has been agreed on Daw Lane, in Horbury Junction. We are still looking for another location in South Ossett. Do you know of a site? Ideally on a grassed area, owned by the Council or WDH that is easily accessible to the community. The idea is that the tree is planted and then adopted by the community, maintained and decorated throughout the year. It could be used to celebrate events other than Christmas, for example the hanging of decorated eggs at Easter time. Any ideas? Please let us know. On Wednesday, Gwen attended the first residents meeting at the newly refurbished Broadroyd House on Fairfield in South Ossett. A new community group has been set up and Gwen has volunteered to act as the Chair. The group is full of enthusiasm, and we’ll keep you posted of their plans and how you can join in and when you can join them for a good cup of coffee. You may be aware of flooding to the public footpath that uses the tunnel under the M1 motorway, at the end of Baptist Lane, in South Ossett. After a lot of emailing and asking questions, it appears that there is a blocked screen that is impeding the flow of water. We are told that the land where the screen is located is privately owned and the landowner is responsible for the work. Having said all of that, the Environment Agency has indicated that once the water levels have reduced, they will carry out some limited work, which should result in the area draining and becoming walkable. We have no timescale for the work by the Environment Agency, but we will continue to push them for the work to be done. In mid-December, a couple of lengths of pavement were resurfaced on Fairfield Road. We have requested that more pavements be treated over the coming months across the whole Ward. This type of work is best done in drier weather, hence the Spring timescale. If you see a yellow A4 notice fixed to a lamppost or something similar, it is always worth stopping and having a read. These are Planning Application Notices which give details of planned developments in that particular area. It gives a brief outline to what is planned by the owner/developer and how to find out more information and how to submit a letter/email of support or objection. This is your opportunity to make comments. Currently we are aware of a development on School Lane in Horbury, on a small one-way road between the High Street and Peel Street. The application is to convert The Old School House, into 9 residential apartments. The application number is 23/02306/FUL. Details can be found on the Council’s Planning Portal - https://planning.wakefield.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?keyVal=S57BGZQQN3P00&activeTab=summary On Friday, Darren was approached by Wakefield Street Kitchen and asked if he knew if our local Food Bank could use a donation of canned soft drinks. This drink was originally donated by our local Amazon warehouse. Over 330 cans were collected and delivered to the Food Bank, which could become a weekly donation. This year sees two 100th Anniversaries of two local Horbury institutions. The first one is the 100th Birthday of The Calder Vale Hotel in Horbury Junction. They have recently issued their events list for the whole of 2024, see Facebook for more information. Please support this local institution, in their centenary year, if you are able. The other event is the 100th anniversary of the passing of Sabine Baring-Gould, who lived and worked in Horbury from 1864 to 1866. He is famed for writing the world-famous hymn ‘Onward Christian Soldiers’ whilst in Horbury. St Peter’s Church, Deb & Gwen and other groups are planning an event for early Summer. Watch this space for more information. However, you can find out more about Sabine Baring-Gould by visiting the exhibition in The Redbox Gallery on Queen Street. There you’ll find out more about the man and his fascination with werewolves, floods and fire! Here are a couple of forward dates for your diary, hopefully drier days. As always check Facebook for up-to-date details and our Facebook page for more events. •Saturday 30th March - Friends of Illingworth Park – Easter Event •Thursday 2nd May – Local Election Day •Sunday 2nd June – Friends of Illingworth Park Gala •Saturday & Sunday 15, 16th June – Horbury Craft & Street Fayre •Sunday 30th June – Horbury Show, Carr Lodge Park •Sunday 4th August – Picnic in the Park, Carr Lodge Park, this year’s theme is Yorkshire Day 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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