Economy, Housing and Investment

Service Lead - Heather Campbell-Firth

This team provides support to businesses in Calderdale, across a wide range of economic and employment development issues, which include:

Support for Business Growth

Business West Yorkshire - Growth Managers.

Connecting Calderdale SMEs with the right support and funding, at the right time in their growth journey. Fostering a beneficial and lasting relationship with local business leaders. The service is the access point for all business support and funding within West Yorkshire.

Business Premises

Successful businesses need the right location and premises from which to operate. We:

• Help businesses to find new business premises within Calderdale.
• Assist with business site expansion plans.
• Have good links with many land/property owners and commercial property agents in Calderdale and the region.

Starting a New Business

Start Up West Yorkshire

Calderdale is a hive of creativity for small businesses. The Borough consistently outperforms its rivals in the creation of new businesses across creative, manufacturing, service and retail sectors.

This gives help to those thinking about self-employment with practical guidance and support.

Business Engagement (Place)

Our Place Team proactively visit businesses across Calderdale to discuss and support business growth opportunities.

They are a key direct link into the Council and can support or signpost to other key services areas, as needed.

Employability

Any company is only as good as its workforce. Calderdale Council is determined that its residents will have the attitude and skills necessary to provide attractive services in today's economic environment. A range of work is undertaken to promote training and apprenticeships. Working with schools, colleges, employers and partners across West Yorkshire, the team seeks to provide a steady supply of job ready employees with a 'can do' attitude.

Employment and Skills

The Employment and Skills Strategy focuses on developing a skills and employment market in Calderdale. This is to encourage economic progress, improve productivity and meet employers' needs for a skilled workforce. This ambition is being supported by multiple programmes:

• Employment West Yorkshire

  Delivered by the Employment Hub, this is a wide-ranging programme of support. It is aimed at people of any age to help them into training, education and employment. This will run until March 2025.

• Change

  We work closely with ISCAL, the Council supported factory. This is to deliver the Change programme to help provide work experience and placements at the factory and other Council departments to help residents develop their skills and experience.

Head of Adult Learning: Grant Soames

Calderdale Adult Learning (CAL) delivers learning to people from all backgrounds and abilities. The courses can be free of charge or attract discounts. We offer non-accredited learning and formal qualifications.

The adult learning offer has clear and direct benefits to economic prosperity, employment and productivity. It also supports a healthy lifestyle, grows confidence and self-esteem, and gives meaning and purpose in life.

Six key areas:

1. Employment, Skills and Qualifications

   Get people on the skills ladder and help them gain, retain, retrain and progress at work.

2. Health and Well-Being

   Promote healthy lifestyles and improve health and well-being.

3. Integration and Inclusion

   Reduce isolation and bring communities together.

4. Culture and Creativity

   Support communities to be creative and cultural producers.

5. Attitudes, Aptitudes and Characteristics

   Help people to gain what they need to take part in work and life.

6. Life Transitions

   Help people work through challenges, such as redundancy, retirement, parenthood and caring. Help individuals to gain the skills to progress in the workplace and support work and learning ambitions.

The above support the five key areas in the CAL Service Plan and meet the Council’s priorities:

• Widen access.
• Deliver an outstanding learning experience.
• Build stronger local communities.
• Develop staff.
• Strong financial management.

Strategic Housing Delivery Manager: Heidi Waters

Housing:

• Implement the Housing Strategy to:
  • make sure Calderdale builds homes needed to meet its current and future needs;
  • and improves the condition of existing homes.
• Work with the National Health Service and Integrated Commissioning Board to make sure housing services improve health and well-being.
• Give advice and help to:
  • improve the energy efficiency of homes;
  • make homes cheaper to heat;
  • and reduce their carbon emissions.
• Work with registered providers and private developers to increase the building of affordable homes in the Borough.
• Supply services to help people live independently. This can include adaptations to existing homes and the development of suitable new homes for elderly and disabled people.
• Bring empty homes back into use.
• Help and advise people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness, which includes temporary accommodation where necessary.
• Contribute to the regeneration of Calderdale through promoting new housing and mixed-use schemes.

Climate and Environment Team:

• Support the Council and the wider Borough to achieve net zero by 2038, in line with the Council’s science-based targets.
• Work with the Climate Action Partnership and their delivery groups on Transport & Getting Around, Warm and Resilient Buildings, Green Economy, Land and Nature and Community Climate Action.
• Develop intelligence, support priority projects, and ensure good communication and messaging on climate and environment in the organisation and the Borough. 
• Maintain an accredited Environmental Management System. Conduct internal audits, monitor performance and ensure compliance with the Council's Environmental Policy.

Policy and Projects Manager: Sian Rogers

The team supports the vibrant and thriving voluntary, community sector and social enterprise sector (VCSE) in Calderdale and also supports wider policy development for the Council.

Working in partnership with Calderdale Clinical Commissioning Group, we manage a contract with the VSI Alliance (Voluntary Sector Infrastructure Support Services) for the benefit of voluntary and community sector groups working in Calderdale. This covers all aspects of support for a vibrant sector, including:

The Alliance formally includes:

• Voluntary Action Calderdale (VAC).
• Sector Support Calderdale (North Bank Forum).
• West Yorkshire Community Accounting Service (WYCAS).
• Locality.
• Calderdale Clinical Commissioning Group.
• Calderdale Council.

The team manages key contracts and grant funded programmes/projects with the voluntary and community sector that deliver strategic Council objectives and maximise opportunities for additional community investment. This includes:

• Healthwatch Calderdale.
• Stronger Neighbourhoods.
• Cultural Objectives.
• Staying Well.
• Financial resilience.
• Advice Services.
• Small Community Grants.
• Discretionary Rates Relief.

We manage the Council's approach to Volunteering to ensure a consistent cross-Council approach to volunteering, advice and guidance for managing volunteers to enable us to:

• Manage our volunteers in a consistent way across the Council.
• Improve information and access to volunteering opportunities with the Council.
• Promote opportunities more effectively.
• Ensure that we recognise the contribution that volunteers make to the delivery of Council services.

Other key areas of policy/strategic support include:

• Leading work to develop and implement the Council's Inclusive Economy Strategy, including delivery of Calderdale's pilot Inclusive Economy project in Park and Warley wards in Halifax.
• Supporting the delivery of the Antipoverty Action Plan.

Tourism and Visitor Economy Manager: Diana Greenwood

• Visitor Economy Strategy.

What we do:

• Multi-channel marketing and promotion for Calderdale. Building on the brand to position Calderdale as a regional, national and international visitor destination. Also, to increase visitor numbers and long-term/overnight stays.
• Promote the uniqueness of Calderdale to residents and visitors. Also, to develop partnerships with key stakeholders and communities around the area.
• Business development. To realise Calderdale's 2024 vision, we offer industry related business support and growing talented businesses advice on:
  • Airbnb;
  • trip advisor;
  • national and local funds that are available;
  • how to be more sustainable.
• Business engagement (Place). Proactive visits across Calderdale to discuss and support the chance for business growth to support our thriving towns.
• Data collection, analysis and research to measure the Calderdale visitor economy.
• Joint working with local, regional and (inter)national organisations, and partners. This is to promote Calderdale and its visitor offer, such as:
  • local attractions and event organisers;
  • Business Improvement Districts (BIDs);
  • Town Boards;
  • Accessible Calderdale;
  • neighbouring DMOs;
  • Visit England;
  • and Visit Britain.
• Promote key regional and sub regional events where Calderdale is involved or that may directly affect us..
• Advice and guidance on safe planning and execution of events that take place in Calderdale's public spaces. (This includes making sure the correct licensing agreements and risk assessments are in place.
• Development of film and TV opportunities in Calderdale by membership of the Film Friendly Partnership. Close work with other national and regional film offices, Screen Yorkshire, Creative England and such. Also via direct communication with producers and filmmakers to arrange permissions for filming to take place in Calderdale.
• Product development and income generation through ecommerce and deliver tours of 'Streets in the Sky' and ascents of Wainhouse Tower. Link with stakeholders to create bookable products and increase funding.
• Working in collaboration with partners and independently to deliver themed experiences for visitors.

Towns Regeneration and Resilience Programme Manager: Rob Shipway

We work closely with colleagues and partners in support of our corporate priority of strong and thriving towns, and places. This is to promote:

• physical regeneration;
• retail vitality;
• business and skills development;
• transport and digital connectivity;
• and the cultural and tourism offer in our six towns (Brighouse, Elland, Halifax, Hebden Bridge, Sowerby Bridge and Todmorden).

Towns Boards were formed for for each of the six towns. These bring together people from local businesses and community groups, Elected Members and others with an interest. They aim to give guidance and support for the regeneration of their town. Our team supports Boards to fulfil this aim.

Our team's role is also manage the programme for some of the major investment that supports our towns, such as:

• Todmorden Town Deal. £17.5 million from DLUHC Supporting Programme. This is being invested into:

   

  • the public realm;
  • active travel;
  • parks and leisure;
  • training;
  • and new enterprise space.
• Heritage Action Zone. Historic England's £2 million investment in Sowerby Bridge's built environment.