Sustainability

Like most organisations now we are fully aware of the climate change emergency and we support local authorities, the South Pennines Park and climate change groups in the fight to improve the environment at a micro-level. As well as providing opportunities for humans to improve their well-being we are also ambitious to improve the biodiversity of the ‘Bell Flats’ and Warland area.

Our building and refurbishment programme will be undertaken with the highest possible respect for the environment, using best practice design and materials.

On the wider site, we will be looking to work with local expertise such as Treesponsibility and Incredible Edible to provide suitable natural planting of trees, hedges and shrubs which attract and support bird and insect life.

One major project we feel would have a significant impact on biodiversity would be to ‘daylight’ Walsden water which was unsustainably culverted in the 1980s to provide an additional land area for a running track, which was eventually not feasible.

The Town Deal Funding rightly comes with conditions for the project sponsors. And as well as sustainability provisions, we will be looking to the Town Deal Board’s Diversity and inclusion panel for direction on how we can meet the needs of modern approaches to this important element of how any organisation should treat its people, clients and visitors. For us as a community business, it is not just a ‘tick box exercise’ we aim for constant awareness on our treatment of others.

In addition to this, we will be looking for ways in which we can fund and make our activities inclusive to any and all those with mobility or other ability barriers to sport and recreation.