We Are Passionate. We Are Committed. We Are Creative.
The Background
Park is the smallest in area of all seventeen wards in Calderdale, covering less than a square mile in area. It is also the most densely populated (at 66.8 persons per hectare) and one of the most deprived. It has by far the highest BME population in the district. Being close to Halifax town centre the ward includes several places of more than purely neighbourhood relevance, such as People’s Park, Calderdale College, Lister Lane Cemetery, the site of the former Halifax Gibbet, and a major retail park. In short, Park is quite different in character from other parts of Halifax and Calderdale and for this reason if no other it stands out as requiring its own Neighbourhood Plan. It is also perhaps the most cohesive ward in terms of its boundaries which are for the most part natural or physical.
In December 2012 a few people got together to talk about a Neighbourhood Plan for Park Ward. Neighbourhood Development Plans had just come into being through the Localism Act 2011 as a way for communities to decide on how the land in their neighbourhood should be developed or protected from development. The group decided to hold a series of open meetings around the themes of Housing, Open Space, Jobs/Economy, Community Safety, Facilities for young people and Environment, along with a walkabout to look at vacant or derelict buildings and sites. These sessions took place over the following year and early in 2014 the decision was made to apply for government funding to draw up a Neighbourhood Plan. Funding was obtained and the work started in earnest in April 2014 with the formation of a steering group which would eventually become the Park Ward Neighbourhood Forum.
Since then we have been researching other Neighbourhood Plans, gathering evidence about the area and developing our priorities for Park Ward as well as talking to the Council and others, and consulting with residents and community groups.
The Forum was officially approved by Calderdale Council in October 2014 as was the ward boundary as the “designated area” for the plan. We held our first AGM in late October and elected an Executive. Forum membership is open to all who live or work or invest in Park Ward and we need all the help we can get! See “Get Involved” for how you can play your part.
For more information on the Neighbourhood Plan and the Forum see the “FAQs” page. You can also read minutes of our meetings, check out our constitution and see who is on our executive here.
Our Constitution
Click here to download our Constitution
Members of the Executive
Meetings
For dates of future meetings please click here. For copies of minutes of past meetings, please contact us.
Our Purpose
Park Ward Neighbourhood Development Plan Forum has two main purposes.
These are
- To promote and improve the social, economic, health and environmental wellbeing of the Area.
- To draw up, agree and implement a statutory Neighbourhood Development Plan for the Area as defined by the Localism Act 2011
Get Involved
If you would like to get involved with the work we do, please complete the short form here and we will contact you to discuss further.