Community Action in Calderdale

Since 2015, Living Streets has been working collaboratively to develop more active environments and communities, conducting School Route Audits (SRAs) which provide local authorities with a set of recommendations needed to deliver this vital work.  

Following a School Route Audit with Ash Green Primary School, several infrastructure changes were implemented, including a safer junction, changes to the layout of the street and a revitalised play area, enabling more active travel journeys to school.   

Mixenden in Calderdale was identified as a key target area due to health and income inequalities, with parts of the ward falling within the 10 per cent most deprived Lower Layer Super Output Areas in England.  

In 2021, Living Streets attended stakeholder meetings to discuss improvements needed at Ash Green Primary School​. Thanks to funding from Living Streets’ Walk to School Outreach programme, an SRA was carried out and the school signed up to take part in WOW – the walk to school challenge in 2022. 

We made a series of recommendations to the council highlighting how local streets could be adapted for walking and wheeling; these changes were implemented by the local authority in 2024.    

Collaborating with the school, Calderdale Council, Active Calderdale, alongside community engagement efforts and support from local stakeholders, was essential to the project's success. 

Before the recommended changes were made, cars frequently drove recklessly down the roads and even mounted the pavements to drop children off at the school gates. Now, the street has been narrowed, converted into a one-way system, and fitted with bollards to discourage problematic parking. 

Children previously found a nearby junction intimidating to cross due to drivers speeding around the roundabout. To address this, the junction has been narrowed and raised to help reduce vehicle speeds. 

As flooding was a major concern for residents, rain gardens were implemented as a matter of priority as part of the project.

In September 2024, Sunny Bank Road play area and the Mixenden Urban Park reopened to the public.  

Additional space around the park – which had historically been used for pavement parking – was adapted following recommendations from Living Steets to extend the fence around the area, providing more space for children to play.  

A regenerated and accessible play area was incredibly important to the pupils and, as they were aware that disabled residents within their community were unable to access the current equipment, a new, wheelchair accessible roundabout was installed as part of the playground. Pupils had concerns about the amount of litter, so new wastebins were also installed at the site. 

The Bikeability team were onsite, teaching 100 children to cycle. A giveaway saw 45 children and adults pedal away with new bikes, with mechanics available to breathe new life into older bicycles. 

In 2025, the average walk to school rate for Ash Green pupils is 62 per cent with just 16 per cent of journeys recorded on the WOW Travel Tracker logged by car. Nationally, 43 per cent of 5-to-10-year-olds are driven to school each day.   

Our relationship with the community continues to strengthen and grow. In 2024, Calderdale Council commissioned a further eight School Route Audits across the region.  

Ash Green Primary School has now become a WYCA Bike Friendly School –- a scheme that provides pupils and school staff access to bicycles and training. The Mixenden Active Travel Hub, funded by WYCA, has also been launched. 

Ash Green Primary School resumed their participation in WOW – the walk to school in January 2025, thanks to WYCA City Region Sustainable Transport Settlement (CRSTS) funding.   

In June 2025, we launched Little Feet, Living Streets’ programme for children aged 2-5 years old in Calderdale. As part of the celebrations, young children enjoyed an adventure trail and played with Little Feet resources, including Elmer the Patchwork Elephant puppets.   

Living Streets is also delivering Walking Works, a bespoke service to encourage workplaces in the area to walk more.  

Hannah Davies, Physical Activity Champion for Pennine GP Alliance, spoke to the children at Ash Green about how walking at work boosts her wellbeing and launched a poster campaign for pupils. The winning designs were put on display at their local GP practice. 

Hannah Davies, Physical Activity Champion for Pennine GP Alliance said:    

"I'm really pleased to be working alongside other GP practices in Calderdale to help encourage both staff and patients to be more active. Even small amounts of movement can make a big difference – whether that’s a lunchtime walk, dancing in the kitchen, or anything in between!” 

To find out more about our work in the region, contact [email protected]