Jeremy Hall of Dean Clough Ltd and Shelagh O’Neill, Calderdale Council, discuss the heritage, culture and USP of Halifax at this Insider event.
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00:00I think the main thing really was just the enthusiasm and the energy and the
00:12real passion to make Halifax and Calderdale a really fantastic place to
00:16be now and in the future because whilst everyone's kind of keen about what's
00:20happening at the moment and the attractions and the vibrancy of the
00:23place, it's really about how do we sustain that, how do we sustain business,
00:27how do we sustain culture and visitor economy and so on, so I just thought the
00:30passion was incredible. So I think we're working really hard as a partnership and
00:34we work with our partners at West Yorkshire and I think we do really well
00:36so Calderdale as a place performs really highly in terms of business and in terms
00:41of skills and employment. There is always more we can do and I think that's the
00:45focus for the future is really building on the work we've done with our
00:47Inclusive Economy Board and our Employment and Skills Partnership to make
00:50sure that we're meeting the needs of business so they can grow, they can stay
00:53here and create a future for our young people and for people who are returning
00:57to work at an older age. Well I think the core of Halifax is obviously
01:01the heritage and that hopefully will stay and we'll look after it and we're
01:04the guardians of that aren't we, we're the custodians of the past but also
01:07we're the the architects and designers of the future and I think what we're
01:10going to see is a really fit-for-purpose 21st century market town that just
01:14really meets the needs of the community and visitors and investors and that's
01:18just a fantastic place to be. I think first and foremost just the wonderful
01:23turnout of people, great mix of people who are here and also you know
01:28the great panel mixture of people who are on the panel you know who have all
01:33got their individual voices and an enormous amount to add to the overall
01:37debate. I'd sum that up in terms of heritage, culture, the offer, the wonderful
01:43thing about the countryside, the housing stock, the schools, places to work
01:48obviously I'm biased and we're like Dean Clough and I think that the the
01:52collective offer that it provides is a wonderful place to live and work. I mean
01:57I see it as a continuing investment and an evolution of the core ingredients
02:03that we have, digital, creative, you know aspirant people and organisations and
02:10investing in the infrastructure and the heritage that we have here creating even
02:15better place to live and work. I think all those key heritage elements are a
02:22massive part of the thread of the town and they're places that people
02:30have been connected to for decades and generations. So if you take someone like
02:34Dean Clough, thousands upon thousands of people have a connection with this place
02:40as their place because their families have worked here, their parents have
02:43worked here or their grandparents have worked here and the same may be a little
02:48more tenuous when it comes to the Peace Hall in terms of how far it's going back
02:51but it's part of the collective history of the town and I think when you then
02:56connect that as well with places like Shibden Hall and Bankfield Museum it's
03:02a rich, diverse and compelling offer.
03:13you