Working with Calderdale Council to improve our area
Ripponden Parish Councillors met with Calderdale Council Community Safety Partnership Manager Derek Benn on Tuesday 14 January 2025 to discuss community safety and environmental blight in the parish.
The Parish Council held an extraordinary meeting — a meeting outside of the regular schedule — so that Parish Councillors and Mr Benn could talk through key concerns within the parish and discuss how to develop new and innovative ways that the Parish Council can work with Calderdale Council so that the local knowledge and awareness can inform Calderdale Council services and response.
Mr Benn updated the Parish Council on the present situation with the Calderdale Gateway, changes in the fly-tipping reporting process, the importance of residents reporting environmental blight, and the current status of enforcement procedures. Parish Councillors and Mr Benn also discussed litter bins, park protection measures, verges, and faded road markings.
Two particularly innovative outcomes of the meeting were 1) the potential for the Parish Council Clerk to directly feed into Calderdale Council reporting systems, and 2) for the Parish Clerk to spend a morning with Mr Benn’s team at Calderdale Council for an in-depth insight into how his department operates.
Ripponden Parish Council would like to thank Mr Benn for taking time out of his Tuesday evening to meet with Parish Councillors. It was greatly appreciated.