Culturedale: Workshops and festivals planned in Halifax, Brighouse, Hebden Bridge, Elland, Sowerby Bridge and Todmorden for Calderdale's year of culture in 2024

The year of culture in 2024 – in which Calderdale Council celebrates its 50th anniversary – is expected to see events including festivals take place across the borough, with a budget of around £900,000.

Some grant money has also been secured, but £300,000 of this has been spent on hiring a team to work on events, councillors heard.

The team has been recruited with the aim of the festival also producing lasting benefits for Calderdale, said cabinet member for Public Services and Communities, Coun Jenny Lynn (Lab, Park) at a recent council meeting.

West Yorkshire Combined Authority is supporting the festival with an £850,000 grant, and a councillor at the meeting asked for more details on what this would be used for and queried an event he heard was planned.

Coun Regan Dickenson (Con, Rastrick) said the grant had been received for the occasion.

“However, it seems that some of this funding is already being spent on a team to promote Culture Year and all the events that will take place.

“How much, exactly, is being spent on this team – and is it coming from the £850,000 grant?

“I have heard the council is planning to hire a company to provide musical entertainment on a canal boat journey from Hebden Bridge to Brighouse – can you confirm whether this is true, and, if so, could you please provide me with details on how much the council is spending on this?” he said.

Coun Lynn said as well as the grant secured from the combined authority, bids for £650,000 to Arts Council England and for £250,000 to the Heritage Lottery Fund had also been submitted with decisions due within weeks.

She confirmed the year of culture team – a programme manager, an events and outdoor festival manager, a community engagement officer, a co-ordinator for a planned Anne Lister programme, a cultural programme officer and a management trainee – had been appointed in September on a fixed two-year contract with a salary cost over that period of £300,000.

She said: “The majority of the salary costs are funded by the combined authority grant.

“The programme itself includes a number of collaborative commissions, a heritage collaboration programme, community commissions and festivals for which we have budgeted £900,000.”

Coun Lynn said the event Coun Dickenson was referring to would use the canal network for an “artistic pilgrimage” through Calderdale including three months of workshops ahead of the event, the council match-funding £40,000 as a share of the £110,000 cost.

“Funded workshops, youth projects, freelancers, support and training and mentorship programmes are also key to ensuring that we secure a long-term legacy from the year of culture,” she said.

“I was at a meeting of the Year of Culture partnership board just yesterday and it was great to hear from people who were there about the number of activities that are planned and they’re going to be happening right across Calderdale.”