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ADDINGHAM CAMPAIGN GROUP CALLS FOR NEW SECONDARY SCHOOL PDF Print E-mail
The campaign group set up in Addingham to address the difficulties experienced by village children in gaining admission to Ilkley Grammar School, is calling for a new secondary school to be built in the area. The group, which held its inaugural meeting this week, is also seeking short term changes to Ilkley Grammar's admission procedures. Representatives of the group are meeting Bradford Council officials next week to press for urgent action to ensure that there is no repeat of the problems experienced in 2009 and 2007 where several Addingham children were initiially refused access to Ilkley Grammar.
 
Parish Council Chairman Ian Taylor, who also chaired the Campaign Group meeting said:
 
"We had a constructive meeting where all the issues and ideas were fully aired. Representatives of parents, school governors, local business, the churches, the Parish Council and Civic Society were present, and everyone contributed to a healthy discussion, and an initial action plan has been drawn up.
 
With the scrapping of the Building Schools for the Future programme, we are back to square one, and we feel that a new secondary school in the area, rather than a rebuild of Ilkley Grammar, is the preferable solution as far as Addingham children are concerned. A new school in, say, the Burley in Wharfedale or Menston area would ease the pressure on Ilkley from that end, leaving Ilkley Grammar to serve the children of this part of the Wharfe valley much more efficiently.
 
Addingham children have nowhere else to go. We are out on a limb and at the end of a county. Even the given alternative of Greenhead, in Keighley, which would have been inconvenient and unacceptable to most parents, will no longer be an option from next year as it will fill up when it becomes an Academy linked to Bradford University. It will be interesting to know where they expect our children to go then".
 
The group have set up a working party to draw up detailed plans and to engage with other parties who may support the campaign for a new school.  In the meantime, group representatives will meet with Bradford Council officials next week to receive an update on the predicted numbers for the 2011 intake, and also to explore various short term proposals.
 
Ian Taylor said: "Group members have been busy researching many aspects of the admissions process. We have considered a number of issues which we can take forward in parallel to the longer term campaign. These include:
  • seeking a formal review of the current Priority Area boundaries. This might involve re-drawing the Priority Area 1 boundary, giving Addingham Primary School feeder status, or both.
  • looking at the protections provided by having Addingham Primary School designated as a rural school, and at the benefit of Rural Protection for the wider community
  • talking to the Schools Adjudicator regarding the process by which the current admissions procedure and boundaries were drawn up, and exploring the scope for a formal complaint or challenge
  • seeking much tighter controls over the excessive fraud that we know takes place whereby parents get round the admissions system for example by giving false or temporary addresses
  • looking at how the process of offering school places can be tightened to eliminate uncertainty by giving officials a more accurate handle on take-up numbers at an earlier stage"

The Group will meet again in early September.

 

 
 
NEW CHAIR APPOINTED PDF Print E-mail
Addingham Parish Council has appointed former Vice Chair Cllr Ian Taylor as its new Chair, at its Annual Meeting held on 19th May 2010. Cllr Taylor, who was elected to the Council in 2007, has been Acting Chair for several months since the outgoing Chair Cllr Alison Widdup began a period of maternity leave. Cllr Catherine Coates is the new Vice Chair.
 
Cllr Taylor said: "I'm delighted and honoured to have been appointed as Chair of Addingham Parish Council, and I look forward to  the challenge of the next 12 months. My immediate priority is to bring together all interested parties to form a working campaign group to try and make real progress on the Ilkley Grammar School admissions issue, and I have already set that work in train.
 
"Longer term, I hope to help bring about a more 'joined up' approach to the management of the village, developing closer links with important organisations such as the Civic Society, School Governors and the Garden Friends, all of which do very important work in Addingham - I'm sure we can all benefit from sharing ideas and skills."
 
Cllr Taylor also paid tribute to his predecessor Cllr Alison Widdup, who did not seek re-election as Chair. He said "Alison worked hard to modernise the Council and brought lots of fresh ideas to the table. She will be a hard act to follow".
 
 
COME AND TELL US WHAT YOU THINK ABOUT THE ARC! PDF Print E-mail

ADDINGHAM RECREATION CENTRE CONSULTATION EVENT

SATURDAY 28 NOVEMBER 2pm - 4pm at the MEMORIAL HALL

 During consultation over the Addingham Parish Plan, people told the Parish Council that they wanted better facilities for people of all generations to meet socially & to take part in organised sports & other physical activity.

The need for more sports and social facilities was a strong and frequent request from children and young people as well as from older members of the community.

Taken along with the need to identify suitable new accommodation for the scouts, the Parish Council have established a project to create what has become known as the Addingham Recreation Centre or ARC. A Steering Group has been setablished involving councillors and representatives of scouts and other village groups to take the project forward.

The ARC Steering Group is now inviting everyone in the village to tell them what they want and need from the ARC at the Memorial Hall from 2-4 pm on Saturday 28th November 2009.  The free event will include reports on feedback already received, the opportunity for group discussions, as well as the opportunity to view, challenge & discuss the approved plans for ARC.

“We had lots of great input to the Parish Plan,” says Alison Widdup, Chairman of the Parish Council and member of the Steering Group.  “And now we need to look at the detail around exactly what the people in the village need, and whether and how they want to use the ARC, and where it should be situated.  This is not just an opportunity for people to put forward their ideas and desires – by demonstrating what they need, their input will also help us access the funding to make the ARC a reality!”

 
Last Updated ( Tuesday, 04 May 2010 )
 
COUNCIL BACKS PLANS FOR CAR-FREE DAY PDF Print E-mail

Following the successful No Car Day organised by Addingham Primary School earlier this year, Addingham Parish Council are backing plans to extend the scheme to the rest of the village,on 22nd September - National Car-Free Day.

The Primary School’s “walking bus” scheme will play an important part in the plans. Recognising this, the Parish Council have approved funding from the Parish Plan grant to provide high-visibility vests for the children taking part. Funding has also been provided towards a poster campaign to promote general awareness of Car Free Day.

It is acknowledged that for some people there is no realistic alternative to the car. The aim of Addingham’s Car Free Day is to encourage car drivers to ask themselves whether their car journey is really necessary, and not to try and impose a ban on car use nor demonise car users. For example you might ask yourself:

    • Could I walk rather than use the car to travel a short distance to the shops?
      Wouldn’t my children benefit from the exercise of walking to school?
      Why not cycle to Ilkley instead of driving?
      Might it be cheaper or sometimes quicker to take the bus & train to Leeds or Bradford ?
      Is there somebody in the village with whom I could share a car on our way to work?

It is hoped that, having considered other ways of making journeys normally made by car, many drivers will find the alternatives acceptable and continue to use them. This in turn should help ease congestion and improve road safety, as well as helping our shops and businesses by reducing pressure on the limited parking facilities in the village.

CAN YOU MANAGE WITHOUT YOUR CAR ON SEPTEMBER 22ND? –PLEASE TRY!

 

 
Last Updated ( Thursday, 10 September 2009 )
 
ADDINGHAM SCHOOL TRAFFIC CALMING ON THE AGENDA PDF Print E-mail
Bradford Council's Keighley Area Committee is to consider installing traffic calming measures near Addingham Primary School after a data logging exercise requested by Addingham Parish Council showed average vehicle speeds in the area of the school to be well over the 20mph limit.
 
The Parish Council had asked for the exercise to be carried out as part of its ongoingcampaign to improve road safety in the village. Figures released by Bradford show the average speed of vehicles entering the village at 28mph, and for those leaving the village 31mph. If approved the traffic calming scheme would be installed between Aynholme Drive and The Acres.
 
Parish Council Chairman Alison Widdup said "We welcome any measure that contributes to improved road safety in the village and the area around the school has been our major concern and priority. I hope that the Keighley Area Committee will consider the proposal for traffic calming to be a positive and necessary one in the light of this evidence".
 
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