Order to ban fires and barbecues on Calderdale moorland to be decided

Following public consultation, Calderdale Council’s Cabinet will now consider the introduction of a Public Spaces Protection Order to reduce the risk of moorland fires.

The blazes on Marsden Moor and Ilkley Moor caused a great deal of damage to many acres of moorland and destroyed precious wildlife habitats.

Calderdale has not recently been affected by serious moorland fires.

However, the Council and its partners say they recognise the increasing risk of fire and the urgent need to take additional preventative action to protect the borough’s rural areas and moorland.

Calderdale Council’s Cabinet Member for Public Services and Communities, Councillor Susan Press, said: “We want people to enjoy our beautiful countryside, but we also have a duty to protect it and it’s important people enjoy our moorland responsibly.

“The introduction of a Public Spaces Protection Order would reduce the likelihood and impact of wildfires and protect the landscape that makes Calderdale a unique place to live, work and visit.”

Calderdale Council is working with Calderdale’s Community Safety Partnership in pursuing stricter prevention methods through the introduction of a Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO).

The Order would prohibit the use of barbecues and lighting of fires in defined areas of the countryside.

A formal consultation into the introduction of this order was held and the response from local people and community groups was overwhelmingly positive and the Council’s Cabinet will now consider officer recommendations to adopt the PSPO.

If approved by Cabinet, the PSPO would come into force from midnight on Tuesday 18 June 2019 and would last for three years. It would be enforced by Council officers and West Yorkshire Police.

The introduction of the PSPO will be discussed at the meeting of Calderdale Council’s Cabinet on Tuesday 18 June at Halifax Town Hall, starting at 6pm.