Castleford Heritage Trust has been commissioned by English Partnerships to support the community during the development of the project and to provide an effective communication link for local people.

It is important that Fryston people have their say and that those opinions are listened to. We are here to listen and pass on information, as well as enhance the process with other projects that will be of additional benefit to the community.

The Heritage Trust has a large membership and many are part of the community of the area, having strong links with the village; we hope that this will be an enjoyable time developing strong relationships and friendships.

A Community Ranger will be employed by us to work with local residents in getting their voice heard and passing on ideas to enable local input in the delivery of the design details of the overall Masterplan for the Fryston Wheldale site.

At the event of 14th September, as well as meeting the designers and developers, we also took a display to stimulate ideas and memories, including the work of Jack Hulme and Harry Malkin.

There were opportunities for local people to tell their stories and contribute their knowledge of the village and its people. These were recorded to form the basis of an on-going village archive celebrating its rich heritage and strong community.

Family histories and village stories are important and should be told and preserved for future generations to honour this
hard-working and creative community.

We want this regeneration scheme to bring substantial benefits to the existing community, and to support the successful delivery of the community’s vision for a better future in the Fryston and Wheldale area.

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SCRAP VEHICLES HAULED FROM RIVER

The council's anti-social behaviour unit has teamed up with West Yorkshire Police to haul vehicles from a river as part of an operation to tackle environmental pollution.

Specialist divers, using cranes, hauled 14 vehicles from the river Aire on March 3rd and March 4th from near the old coal loading station at the Fryston Colliery site.

Out of the 14 vehicles, four were confirmed to be stolen and five were unidentifiable due to their condition. The initiative is planned to be repeated.

The cean up means there is potential for future development so the area can be used for canoeing and sailing amongst other things.

Councillor Olivia Rowley, Wakefield Council's cabinet member for community safety and cohesion said: "This kind of action is extremely important as it tackles environmental pollution and makes a real difference to our areas of natural beauty."

"We want to make it clear that dumping vehicles is completely unacceptable and when caught people will have to face the consequences."

Inspector Ian Williams of Castleford Neighbourhood Policing Team added "This has been a very productive exercise. It shows that we are serious about environmental issues and making Castleford a safe and clean place to live. I look forward to being involved with a repeat of this and similar operations in the future."

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Birse Wins Fryston & Wheldale Colliery Reclamation Scheme

Birse Civils Ltd have been awarded the contract to reclaim the former Fryston and Wheldale Colliery by Wakefield Metropolitan District Council, to be funded by English Partnerships the National Regeneration Agency.

The scheme is now at the implementation stage with the opportunity for the local community to assist in working up the detail on the agreed masterplan prior to submitting for planning approval later this year and main contract commencement in Spring 2008.

In the interim works are due to start on site to;
i. Address existing health and safety issues,
ii Create linkages around the site so that residents can retain limited access during main reclamation period
iii Bring roads with existing village up to adoptable standards.

Early discussions have also taken place with Network Rail regarding improvements to the road bridge access to the village and it is envisaged that detailed investigations by Network Rail will be underway in the autumn this year.

Birse Civils Ltd is a £190 million civil engineering company based in Tadcaster, North Yorkshire, with regional offices at Cheadle Hulme in Cheshire, Kent and Northampton. In 2006 Birse became part of the largest UK construction company Balfour Beatty Plc.
Birse (North East) operate as a regional business from Tadcaster covering the east of England from Scotland to Nottingham with a turnover of around £45 million.

Ged O'Reilly of Birse said: "We are delighted to have won this contract in Fryston & Wheldale and in partnership with English Partnerships, Yorkshire Forward and Wakefield Council, are looking forward to building on our experiences from previous schemes at Dinnington & Grimethorpe collieries."

"We are proud of the reputation we have earned from our diverse customer base. The company has been a pioneer in partnering with customers to build relationships and repeat business. As one of the leaders in partnering, we were acknowledged by one of the largest public sector clients as the best partnering company in the industry."

Councillor Denise Jeffery, Deputy Leader of Wakefield Council and Cabinet Member for Regeneration, added: "I am delighted this contract has now been awarded and the local community can look forward to work beginning. This is a massive scheme and very important for the future regeneration of the area."

Tony Staincliffe, who is managing the multi-million pound project for English Partnerships, said "This much needed project will bring derelict land back into use for the community and help create a sustainable community for the local residents."

To deliver the scheme, Birse Civils Ltd has teamed up with designers Scott Wilson based in Leeds, a partnership which worked successfully on the reclamation and remediation of Dinnington Colliery in 2004. Earthmoving contractor Greyhound Plant Services and Ashlea Landscape Ltd are also partners in the scheme.

We look forward to working with our partners and the local community to bring about a reclamation scheme that local people will be proud of and enjoy for many years to come.

(Above) Jack Hulme's photographs