Grange Moor Community Association
Grange Moor Matters
LATEST NEWS FROM AROUND THE VILLAGE
DECEMBER 2021
Good morning, hope you are keeping well,
Here are the latest village updates and issues affecting our village, separate Events & Activities e-mails will bring you more detailed information about Events and Activities taking place in the village
There is quite a lot in this update, so please do take a few minutes to read through and have a look at what is of particular interest to you
Please feel free to pass this e-mail onto others who you think may be interested
CHRISTMAS GREETINGS
With Christmas Day now only just a few days away can take the opportunity to wish each and every one a Very Happy Christmas with every best wish for New Year
Thank you for your support of the Community Association through two very difficult years, with the hope that 2022 will see us getting together with you face to face again
THE CELEBRATION OF THE QUEENS PLATINUM ANNIVERSARY 2022
Is there anyone out there in the community who has the talent or experience in organizing an event, or helping to organize an event for the Queens Platinum Celebration in June next year?
We need new blood and ideas for the Community Association for our Queen’s
longevity on the throne
Can you help, if so please contact us on gramoorca@btinternet.com
KIRKLEES BIN COLELCTIONS
The Council Calendar for Bin collections over Christmas and the New Year and for 2022 is now available on the Council web site, go to Bin Collections and follow the link to put you home address in and you can print this off yourself if you have not already done so
ARRIVA BUS SERVICES TO MIDDLESTOWN
Since our last update we have provided information about the Transport Service available from the Denby Dale Centre as it is looking quite likely that it will take some time to sort this problem out
Both our MP, Mark Eastwood, and myself have been in contact with Arriva Bus Company. Sadly, we have both received a simple rebuttal of our request to reconsider reinstating the bus service between Grange Moor and Middlestown. We consider this to be a vital and essential link for residents of Grange Moor who are patients of Middletown Medical Centre but Arriva will not discuss this
Arriva Bus Company will not enter in any conversation and they simply state that is a Commercial decision based upon the low number of passengers who use this service without responding to any of our points about this being a vital and essential link. They have, in effect, admitted that they are putting their commercial profit ahead of the health and well being or residents of Grange Moor
I have also passed on these comments to the West Yorkshire Mayor who is a strong advocate for rural bus services, and see what she has to say, though this may form part of a longer term plan as she would like to take control of the region’s bus services out of private hands to achieve this ambition. We have had a response to this, and sadly they are unable to bring any pressure to change the Arriva Bus Company decision, although it was mentioned that this will be kept under Review!
Please see the foillowing extract from the e-mail received from the West Yorkshire Combined Authority who replied to e-mail to the Mayor
“One of the pledges made by Mayor Tracy Brabin is to improve bus services in our area and make them more affordable to use, we have launched plans to bring buses under greater public control to help achieve this. This would allow us to have much greater control over how public money is used to support services, deliver deals on fares to help make travel more affordable and encourage more people to use buses, and improve the information available to passengers.”
This may be the end of the service from Arriva. We are, however, working with our MP and The Denby Dale Centre looking at what other options may be available to you and hope to report some more positive news on this in the near future.
CISWO – The Coal Mining Charity
Please poster from CISWO who have contacted up and asked to display this poster reminding you of their presence to offer help and assistance to former miners and their families
DENBY LANE – PROPOSED DEVEOLPMENT OF NEW HOUSING
We have heard nothing further from the developer about this proposed development and there has not, as yet, been any plans submitted to the Council for the development
KIRKBURTON MOBILE POST OFFICE
The Mobile Post Office Van continues to visit Grange Moor and will continue every Wednesday morning with the big red Post Office van at the Grange from 10.45 to 11.45 am
The Mobile Post Office Van will not be here on Wednesday 29 December
Please support this, a wide range of post office facilities are available from the friendly and helpful staff who come with the van
COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION EVENTS AND ACTIVITIES
We were, at long last, looking forward to resuming our Lunch Club Activities, with our first Lunch out planned for the end of January, so we are really disappointed that we have had to postpone this Lunch and will re-arrange this to a later date. We have found this necessary with the anticipation of further Covid restrictions being introduced in the New Year. With the extended Christmas and New Year holiday period al most upon we have taken the decision now to avoid any last minute or late cancellation and the disappointment that would bring. This also applies to the Community Association Meeting on 4 January and the Coffee at The Pavilion on Wednesday 19 January
We will, however, bring forward the next Community Fish & Chip delivery to Thursday 27 January instead
“IMPORTANT” Please register your interest in our “Sit Down” Lunches and be the first to hear about our plans, really important that you do this as the venues we will be using will have some limited accommodation for us and those of you who have registered will be the first to hear and be able to book a place.
COMMUNITY FISH & CHIPS
We have now completed our last Community Fish & Chips delivery in 2021. This year we have delivered 346 meals in 172 home deliveries. We are really grateful to our volunteer helpers who have made this possible, and if anyone else would like to add their name for this please let us know. You will only be needed for about 20 minutes to make a delivery and volunteers may not be needed every time as this will depend on the number of nominations and requests we receive
The next delivery will now be on Thursday 27 January (and not 17 February for the reasons mentioned above) Please visit the Events Tab for information about this, and when we will be open for nominations and orders
A great big thank you the lovely people at Grange Moor Fisheries, George & Kayla for providing the fish & chips and their continuing help and support with this activity, great fish and chips too! We are lucky to have such a great couple running our village fish & chip shop, keep up the good work and keeping support them for your fish & chips
They really took us by surprise when we collected the Community Fish & Chips for delivery on Thursday 16 December, when they informed us that they wanted to donate this delivery themselves, as a thank you for the support that we had given them over the last 2 years. They refused to take any payment for this delivery. We did, of course, thank them for their generosity
We are in the process of applying for further grants to maintain the Lunch Club activities for another year, if anyone would like to offer a donation or sponsor a delivery please get in touch
WE HAVE TO REMIND YOU THAT ALL OUR EVENTS AND ACTIVITIES REMAIN SUBJECT TO COVID RULES AND COULD BE CANCELLED AT SHORT NOTICE IF THERE IS A CHANGE OF RULES THAT MEAN WE CAN NO LONGER RUN AN ACTIVITY SAFELY
BOOK BOXES on Ben Booth Lane
The Book Boxes continue to provide the residents of Grange Moor with a wide variety of reading material and will continue their daily presence on Ben Booth Lane as long as you want this. Thanks for the continued supply of books, with new
supplies coming in regularly. We welcome paperback books and ask that you leave them in a plastic bag, by the boxes or against the gate posts. All books are then quarantined in the garage for 3 days before being introduced to the boxes
With the shorter days now with us the books will out only for the hours of daylight, and will not be out on days when the weather is not good, which is more likely over the coming months
Similarly, the books will not be out on days when a Charity Van collection is due following the bad experience we had early on with these collections when they took the box and the books!
The books will be taking a break over the Christmas and New Year, giving you a chance to read the new books you may be receiving as presents before passing them on for others to read!
The Book boxes will be come in on Thursday 23 December and be back out in early January depending on the weather at that time
We continue, separately, to maintain the children’s book box and welcome further supplies and returns for this box which will usually be out at weekends and during school holiday time. There is also separate box containing hard back books which will usually be out during the week
KEY COMMUNITY POP CHOIR
From Graeme Genty,
I'm thrilled to say that the choir started up again on Tuesday 7 September and we will be meeting in Flockton Flockton as usual, every Tuesday from 7pm.
All welcome, new and old, old or young and parents are welcome to bring children along too.
£2 donation appreciated if people attend, children are free.
If you are interested and would like to know more, then feel free to get in touch by emailing keyofgofficial@gmail.com
MINIATURE PARK, Briestfield Road
We are now in the process of applying for grants to complete the work on the Miniature Park, with the hope and expectation that funds could be made available to us in early in 2022. This will, then, allow us to complete the work, please bear with us whilst we complete these necessary procedures. Suitable funds for this type of project are not plentiful and we are searching the market to find suitable funds to which we can apply, if anyone is aware of a fund that may be worth a try please let us know
Please support the Crowdfunding page for this. We have completed our work, but cannot instruct contractors until we have the funds to pay them. We have a number of grant applications in place but need your support to raise the extra money we need
https://www.spacehive.com/grange-moor-miniature-park
Further information to follow
ANTI SOCIAL BEHEAVIOUR - GRAMEEN SPICE BUILDING
Towards the end of October, we received information suggesting that the rear of the Grameen Spice had been broken down and people were seen entering the building.
This was immediately reported to the police, we also spoke with our local PC Ward Manager as a result of which the Police visited the site on a number of occasions during that week and they tell us that “on Sunday Evening 31 October Police were up there, and four local youths were present, their details were taken, (Anti-social behaviour warning letters to be issued), and moved on”.
It is hoped that this will be noticed by others who may have been using the premises and that there will be no further visits to the building, so far this seems to have been effective but please do let us know if you see any re-occurrence
The Police tell us that they will continue to monitor the site to prevent any further activity
The Property Owners were also informed immediately and they arranged for the boarding to be replaced. Sadly, there were again called upon in the following days as repeated incidents saw the boarding removed before the Police intervened on
Sunday 31 October. The Property Owners are fully aware of the situation and the Police have also been speaking them to them about the security issues
Hopefully the Police intervention and the issue of the Anti-Social Letters may be a sufficient deterrent to others who may be considering a visit to the boarded-up building, so far things seem to have quietened down and we are not aware of any further incidents
A further incident has been reported to us, when a hooded youth was seen outside the back door of the building “smashing up” the furniture that has been left out. There was also a noticeable smell thought to be cannabis, in the air. This has been passed onto the Police
FACE BOOK AND WEB SITE
Our own Face Book, and web site now carries information about all our events and activities, and other issues affecting the village together with Public Service Information, so please pay a visit and let us know what you think
You can also message us with information with your concerns about issues affecting our village through our Face Book page and also the web site
NEW RESIDENTS
Please let us know if you have new neighbours moved in recently, we have prepared a welcome pack to help them settle into the village, and can deliver this to them, thanks
KIRKLEES COUNCIL
FLOODING – There has been further flooding at the end of October on the trouble spot on Denby Grange Lane. This has been reported to Councillor Bill Armer who has received the following response from Kirklees Council
“I have a response from Kirklees:
There are some parts of Denby Lane which are part adopted. I have checked with the Land Registry team who have confirmed that from Briestfield Road (at Grange Moor) to Woodlands Farm, is maintained by the Council. The location of the drainage issues falls within this stretch or road, therefore I have logged this with the Drainage team under reference number DRN629950.
In short, they will take a look, but I don't know when. To be fair, in the past they
have been reasonably quick to respond.”
PLAY AREAS – No change on last month as far as Grange Moor is concerned. We understand that there have been some consultations started in other areas and are just waiting for our turn
Please let us know of other issues that need reporting to the Council
LITTER & FLY TIPPING
Our village streets continue to remain fairly clear of litter, thanks to the Council Guy who comes every Mondays and Friday, not mention the efforts made by you, the residents, in helping to keep the streets clean by not dropping as much litter.
Thanks to all of you in helping to make the village look much better, let’s keep it that way
The lady from Overton continues to keep the verges along Wakefield clear of rubbish and Kirklees Council, now aware of her efforts, come along and collect the bags she leaves fairly quickly.
So far this year we have received 28 reports of incidents in and around the village (In 2020 we received 19 similar reports!). Please let us know if you spot anything and keep the reports coming in.
The latest fly tipping incident is particularly worrying, at the begging of December a huge pile of black bin bags was noticed in a lay by on Wakefield Road. This was reported to Kirklees and Councilor Bill Armer has now heard that the council removed 182 black bags from the site, and it is understood “that the contents were soil and electrical equipment consistent with the cultivation of cannabis”!
IT IS REALLY IMPORTANT THAT ANY INCIDENT YOU SEE IS REPORTED TO US SO WE ARE KEPT IN THE FULL PICTURE AND KEEP THE COUNCIL PRESSED ON OUR LOCAL SITUATION
DOG POO
Can we again ask our dog owners to clear up after their dogs, the dogs cannot do this themselves so please be a responsible owner and do it for them, please show some respect for other dog owners and our village
We would like to hear from you about suggestions of how we can combat this and look forward to hearing from you, but so far have received no suggestions
SPEEDING ON LILEY LANE & BRIESTFIELD ROAD
This continues to be a problem, particularly with late night speeding cars and bikes on Liley Lane
We really need to hear from more of you with your comments and experiences to make the Police and Council aware of your feelings about this, so come on get in touch and let us know
Please do keep us informed of your experiences of speeding vehicles on Liley Lane, this will help us keep the Police informed of the problem and hopefully will encourage some action, there currently seems to be little interest or consideration of speed cameras on Liley Lane. The more information we can provide may encourage some action
There have been some incidents involving cars gathering on Jubilee Way, making lots of noise in an evening, with the police being called on a number of occasions recently.
We have a further update from the Police about this in which they say that regular patrols continue but they have not yet encountered anyone using Jubilee Way for this purpose. On one recent visit I am told the Police spoke to someone working there and was told that 2 vehicles had left 5 minutes earlier. The Police have
stated that regular patrols will continue on Jubilee Way to deter further use of this as a vehicle meet
Please let us know if you hear of any further noise from Jubilee Way
GRAMEEN SPICE CAR PARK & RE-CYCLING BINS
The gates at the entrance to the car park remain closed with a strong lock and chain, the bins have, however, been moved by the Council and are now located at the front of the pub building. We understand that they will now remain there to allow residents access to this facility unless another site can be found
The bins are now located at the side of the pavement and road side, it is even more important now that glass is not left if the bins are full, the Council may be on the lookout for fly tipping in this respect so do take care to keep the site clear of glass. It is a busy corner and used by lots of people, including dog walkers so please help to keep this clear of glass
The siting of the bins may not be to everyone’s satisfaction, this was done by the Council without consultation. Suggestions for an alternative site within the village will be much appreciated so let us have your thoughts on this please, so far, we have still not received any suggestions for this
PLEASE BE PATIENT IF THE BINS ARE FULL AND DO NOT LEAVE YOUR BAGS WITH BOTTLES, come back later, contractors usually come along quickly and empty the bins. Bags and boxes left on the pavement are regarded as fly tipping and may be reported to the Council
Please ring the contractors, 01226 727298, if the bins are full and need emptying. DO NOT WAIT FOR SOMEONE ELSE TO DO IT! They usually do respond quite quickly and empty the bins
You will now beware of the latest information from Kirklees Council about their Waste Strategy (sent out to on 9 December and an extract from the Examiner report on this on 15 December), we now have to wait and see what is actually decided and acted upon
NEWSLETTER
The November Newsletter has now been delivered and we will be looking towards
the next Newsletter which will due out at the end of February. If you are planning an event or activity in March, April or May and would like information included in our Newsletter please get in touch with us (e-mail to gramoorca@btinternet.com) before the end of January for inclusion in the February Newsletter
We are really grateful to our team of volunteers, for helping us to get the Newsletter to you, and will be pleased to hear from anyone out there who would like to help. The more helpers we have the easy it will be to make deliveries with shorter rounds.
If anyone would like to help out do get in touch
PLANNING APPLICATIONS
The Planning Application for the Grameen Spice appears to have moved forward, the additional information requested by the Council and other bodies has now been received and posted on the Council Planning Website. The deadline for making comments, 21 December, may have passed when you read this but you should already be aware of this from our earlier e-mail on the subject
There has been one new application so far this month as far as we are aware. (to 20 December) Planning Application Number 2021/94540 – Erection of part single storey extension and first floor extension and no bifolding doors at 23 Back Lane, submitted on 6 December
For more information about planning applications visit Kirklees Council web site/search for planning applications
WEST YORKSHIRE POLICE
The West Yorkshire Police team covering Grange Moor are part of the Dearne Valley Rural Policy Team
Our beat officers are PC 4963 NEWSOME and PC 786 Jake KNIGHT.
PC Newsome is also our local wildlife police officer
Please continue to use the 101-telephone number to contact the Police for non-urgent issues and 999 for emergency assistance. You can use the internet reporting form at westyorkshirepolice.uk, this creates a log immediately and is usually picked up quicker than the telephone reporting system (advised by PC Newsome in November 2020)
We have an occasional separate mailing with Police Alerts, so look out for these
How to Contact us
E-mail us gramoorca@btinternet.com
Via the web site
Community Association Face Book
The “Community Association Post Boxes” are located in Grange Moor Fisheries, Grange Moor Convenience Stores, The Grange, and Streakers, hairdressers. These Community Post Boxes are not currently available. If you want to leave a written note, please use the post box on the gate at 2B Ben Booth Lane
Community Association Meetings are now taking place once again, on the first Tuesday of each month in The Bowling Club Pavilion at 7.30 pm, come along and join us
Or
Ring Brian on 01924 840731
Take care and stay safe