Calderdale Inheritance Project
The following source list was originally available only on paper in one of the West Yorkshire Archive Service offices. It may have been compiled many years ago and could be out of date. It was designed to act as a signpost to records of interest on a particular historical subject, but may relate only to one West Yorkshire district, or be an incomplete list of sources available. Please feel free to add or update with any additional information. |
Calderdale Inheritance Project
The Calderdale Inheritance Project and the Inheritance Decade was a programme initiated by Calderdale Metropolitan Borough Council in 1984 to run from 1985-1995. At the time it was a unique model, for the United Kingdom, of urban and economic regeneration. It was prompted by a review of the state of the Borough, which diagnosed low self-esteem, poor external image and economic decline. The Department of the Environment, the Historic Buildings Council and the Civic Trust started to work with Calderdale on a programme of conservation work in 1981. The Calderdale Chief Executive, as part of state of the Borough review in 1983 proposed a renewal programme and campaign entailing environmental schemes and marketing to encourage investment by changing local and national perceptions. The Council commissioned the Civic Trust to undertake 2 studies of the environmental potential of Calderdale, published in 1984 and 1986. The launch of Calderdale Inheritance attracted the support of local businesses and from the Department of the Environment. The involvement of the Prince of Wales, Business in the Community in 1986 and the Council of Europe in 1988 came at times when Inheritance was vulnerable in terms of all party political support. From 1989-1992, the Fair Shares community development initiative ran alongside Calderdale Inheritance whose emphasis shifted to a project implementation role. Projects included town centre retail schemes, building refurbishments, new developments, industrial schemes and environmental/townscape projects. Some of the larger projects were the Riverside Project at Sowerby Bridge (Greenups Worsted Mill, Spinning Mill, Winton Works, Carlton Mill and Croslee Mill), EUREKA in Halifax, the children's interactive learning centre, the Upper George Yard in Halifax, as well as the many restored Victorian shop fronts in Halifax, Todmorden, etc. In October 1988, the Council of Europe Conference on "Heritage and Successful Town Regeneration" was held in Halifax and focused international attention on the Project.