Mayor visit for Calderdale residents wanting to transform overgrown land into community space
Campaigners hoping to secure what were once overgrown and fly-tipped pieces of land as community space welcomed their town mayor to find out more about the project.
Mayor of Todmorden Susan Press was a guest at Gledhill Street Community Garden Project’s “roundtable” session, where members showed her a copy of their project portfolio.
Her visit came in the wake of Todmorden town councillors’ giving backing to the project, said group chair, Madeleine Brooks.
Months of work to clear, tidy and make safe and make comfortable the site have been undertaken as part of ongoing improvements by the volunteers.
The group has applied to Calderdale Council seeking to make the land, which comprises four plots, to be declared an asset of community value.
Members believe through improving the land, the space can provide some outdoor green space on their doorstep for residents with no garden.
The group is also bidding to secure public rights of way running through the site.
They hope Calderdale Council will make its decision on the application by October.
With a group 60-strong and growing, Ms Brooks said: “There has been a lot of support shown to us and many people expressing their gratitude for us working hard to ensure our children have a safe place to play, and for our community to come together and recover our neighbourhood with positivity into the future.
“This journey, although arduous and fraught with challenges, has already made a remarkable impact that has been good for community morale.”
She said the mayor wished them every success with their application.