Ossett News Posted March 31 Report Share Posted March 31 Fifty years ago on the 1st April 1974, the Government enacted The Local Government Act of 1972, which saw the creation of the 5 local councils in West Yorkshire. This was the plan from the previous Conservative Government led by Edward Heath. Wakefield Council, along with, Calderdale based in Halifax, Kirklees around Huddersfield and Dewsbury, Leeds and Bradford, were created. Wakefield Metropolitan District Council, based in the Town Hall on Wood Street, was an amalgamation of Castleford, Featherstone, Hemsworth, Knottingley, Normanton, Osgoldcross, Pontefract, Stanley and two Wakefield Councils, plus our very own Horbury Urban District and Ossett Municipal Borough Councils. Wakefield Council has 63 councillors, covering 23 Ward areas, that is 3 per Ward. Darren, Deb and Gwen are honoured to be the three Ward councillors that cover the Ward of Horbury & South Ossett and represent you on Wakefield Council. Each of the Wards have circa 12,000 - 14,000 residents, giving a total population across the district of around 340,000. This has been a relatively quiet week for Darren, Deb and Gwen. As we have approached the Easter Weekend, community groups have come to the fore with their great activities and events. We started Saturday morning by visiting Illingworth Park in South Ossett. Here we joined the Illingworth Park Friends Group for their Easter Egg Hunt. The park was packed with families enjoying the morning sunshine, looking for the buried egg clues and having a go at solving the mystery of the hunt. Oh, did we mention the Easter Bunny was there and everyone, including Darren got to meet him! This is what community is all about and Horbury & South Ossett does it so very well. Moving on from Illingworth Park, we went into Horbury Town Centre. Following a quick walkabout, we joined the Methodist Church for their weekly coffee morning and a biscuit or two. Over the past two-years there have been at least 6 accidents on Sowood Bends, resulting in serious damage to property, both residential and farm boundary walls. Fortunately, there have been no deaths. The installation of speed cushions which have been completed this month, will slow down traffic and hopefully ensure that there are no deaths on this stretch of road. This project has been in the planning stages for over two-years. Funding was secured and public consultation was held in the immediate area, including speed monitoring. More road safety improvements are in the pipeline for the main roads with in our Ward. If you know of a road that needs safety attention that is not in Horbury & South Ossett, please feel free to raise the matter with the Councillors for those areas. Their information can be found at www.wakefield.gov.uk and search ‘Find my Councillor’ In Carr Lodge Park, the Friends of Horbury’s Park have installed a new sign giving details of the fruit trees within the Community Orchard. The sign was funded by grants from our local Rotary Club – Horbury & Ossett Phoenix and from Wakefield Council. The sign was created by local Horbury Bridge business, Visual Impact. The Community Orchard was planted in February 2023 and contains 16 fruit trees. Several different species of trees were planted including apples, pears, plum, cherry, fig, peach, quince and greengage. The friends group, of which Darren and Deb are active members, are hoping to plant more trees later this year and into 2025. If you’d like to help support the group, drop Darren, who is a founder member and the secretary, an email at TalkToUs@mail.co.uk The idea is that once the trees bear fruit and it is ripe, park users will be able to pick the fruit and take it home, give it a wash and enjoy some great park grown food. The eagle eyed amongst you may have noticed that a trench has been dug in Stan Barstow Gardens, in Horbury Town Centre. This is in preparation for the Horbury sign installation, which is planned for the next month or so. Watch this space for more information and how you can help in future. The sign installation is being funded by a grant and is being organised by Horbury Village Partnership. Horbury Village Partnership is a collaboration of town centre businesses, residents, community groups and local Councillors. We meet monthly and are the team behind the summer hanging baskets, planters and the Christmas Light switch-on. On Wednesday morning, Gwen joined the residents at Broad Royd Community Centre in South Ossett for the regular coffee morning. Gwen was joined by Simon Lightwood, the Member of Parliament for Wakefield. Gwen and Simon were joined by one of the groups regulars Jean and a great time was had by everyone over coffee and biscuits. Finally on Wednesday evening Darren, Deb and Gwen visited the Slazenger’s Bowling Club, down at Horbury Junction. We were very warmly welcomed and had a tour of their facilitates and listened to their plans for the future. We hope to be able to support the club with a grant over the summer months to allow them to carry out important maintenance to the bowling green. If you are interested in bowling, Horbury and South Ossett have many bowling clubs. Why not contact one of them and become a regular or a member of their club. On Thursday morning, we paid a visit to Christ Church Parish Centre and to see residents at their regular coffee morning. Here we were able to hand out some Cadbury’s Crème Eggs to those enjoying a coffee. Easter started early for the 20 or so people present, enjoying a community activity and some great conversation. After coffee, Darren and Deb called into our local Food Bank and met up with an amazing person called Marie. Together with her small team of hardworking volunteers they run this much needed food bank, supporting around 45 families and single people each and every week. We were shown their new commercial fridge and freezer, which over the next few months will be used to broaden their offer to include fresh and frozen foods. Supporting more people in these very difficult times. As this has been a less busy week, Darren took the opportunity to clear out some old electrical items from his home office. These items, which included old keyboards, computer cables, mice and several old remote controls, were taken to Horbury Library. Each library across the district has a bright pink wheelie bin, for you to leave small electrical items. These items are collected and recycled where possible, stopping unnecessary landfill and helping you to clear space in your own homes. Why not give it a go – it’s free and you can also recycle old batteries at the same time, but in another smaller bin. On Friday morning Darren visited Wakefield Food Kitchen, who have over the past few months been giving donations to our Food Bank. Darren’s car was filled with chocolate Easter Eggs, which had been donated from various sources to Wakefield Food Kitchen. These were delivered to a local care home to give their residents and staff a little Easter treat. Whatever you do over the Easter Break, please keep safe and enjoy! View the full article Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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