Our Public Meetings
Our first public meeting of 2025, themed around Housing: It’s an Issue, takes place on Thursday 19th June 2025.
You will find previous meetings, with links (where available) to speakers’ presentations, below.
Housing it’s an issue: Explore the issue of asylum seeker and refugee housing
Thursday 19th June 2025 – Please click here to book your free place.
Join us for a thoughtful evening of discussion, exploring the issue of asylum seeker and refugee housing. Hear local voices, ask questions, and discover what’s being done to make housing fairer for all.
It would help to receive questions in advance here.
Evening Schedule:
🕕 6:00–7:00 PM – Enjoy refreshments (donations welcome) and chat with Calder Valley Community Land Trust about their current housing projects and the energy efficiency improvements at Fielden Hall.
🕖 7:00–9:00 PM – Panel discussion on asylum and housing, followed by audience Q&A.
Panel Guests:
- Sanaa El Khatib – Expert by Experience
- Finn Jensen – Host with Refugees at Home
- Dai Larner – Trustee, Calder Valley Community Land Trust
- Kirsten Fussing – Neighbourhoods and Cohesion Manager, Calderdale Council
- Blake Doe – Membership Engagement Lead, Calderdale Valley of Sanctuary
Chair:
- Vicky Mulhern, Integration and Partnerships Officer, Migration Yorkshire
Free event – everyone is welcome.
Please click here to book your free place.
Organised by Calderdale Valley of Sanctuary & Calder Valley Community Land Trust.
This event is part of Calderdale’s Refugee Week programme. You can visit Refugeeweek25 to explore what else is on – with over a week of exciting events across Calderdale celebrating community and the power of welcome.
Questions? Contact Blake – membership@calderdale.cityofsanctuary.org
Previous meetings:
REntier Valley
14 November 2024, 7 – 9 pm
Fielden Hall, Todmorden
Monday 14th November 2024, Rentier Valley
Join us in Todmorden for an evening of tours, talks and community.
In conversation with Isaac Rose, author of ‘The Rentier City: Manchester and the Making of the Neoliberal Metropolis’
Details:
Date: 14 November 2024
Time: 7 – 9pm
Informal chats: 6 – 7pm on our energy efficiency plans for Fielden Hall, our housing & enterprise centre development at Ferney Lee, the history of Fielden Hall & its current uses. Turn up any time in this window.
Location: Fielden Hall, Ewood Lane, Todmorden, OL14 7DD
Tickets: available free on Eventbrite here
Isaac Rose, a Manchester-based tenant organiser who grew up in Hebden Bridge, released his “gripping, un-put-down-able” book ‘The Rentier City: Manchester and the Making of the Neoliberal Metropolis’ earlier this year. The book tells the story of housing in Manchester and how a focus on property development has led to rising inequality in the city.
In a conversation with Isaac and Dan Whittall from the Trades Union Council, we’ll look at what we can learn from Manchester and what solutions we can apply here in the Calder Valley. The discussion will be facilitated by Incredible Edible’s Pam Warhurst.
Todmorden’s own Imaginary Wines will be running a wine and beer pop up stall throughout the evening and there will be plenty of opportunities for conversation and celebration (it is our birthday after all!).
We look forward to welcoming you.
Event programme:
6 – 7pm – Learn more about Fielden Hall
You are welcome to join us from 6pm to take a look at the historic Fielden Hall and learn more about how this important community asset is now managed and used. You’ll also have the opportunity to talk to Paul and Dai from the Calder Valley Community Land Trust about the current retrofit project taking place at the Hall. The project is forecast to reduce energy bills by 41% and CO2 emissions by 87%. Talk to the Fielden Centre Association about the history of Fielden Hall. Talk to our trustees about the enterprise centre and housing project at Ferney Lee.
The Rentier Valley event formally starts at 7pm.
7 – 7.30pm – Exhibition and refreshments
Enjoy a glass of wine from Imaginary Wines or warm up with a brew and some networking. During this time, you’ll be able to purchase a signed copy of Isaac’s book and find out more about proposals for the Todmorden Enterprise Centre – a project to create 19 affordable rented homes and 23 affordable rented offices on the site of the former Ferney Lee Home for Older People.
7.30 – 9pm – In conversation with Isaac Rose
An introduction from Dan Whitall of Calderdale TUC.
An opportunity to hear more about Isaac’s nationally acclaimed book and look at what we can learn and apply here in the Calder Valley. With ample opportunity for questions and discussion, this will be an exciting opportunity to explore how we can work together to address the housing crisis and help to improve the lives of local people.
About the book
“This is a gripping, un-put-down-able story of the UK’s most shocking city. Stripping bare the relationship between capital, property and the organisation of space, it never loses its focus on the power of resistance as well as the pain of defeat.”
‘The Rentier City: Manchester and the Making of the Neoliberal Metropolis’ explores the history of housing in Manchester from its industrial slums to the creation and sale of council housing, and the development model of today.
The book argues that over the last thirty years, corporate developers, private landlords and politicians have created a development model that has displaced working-class communities, public spaces and affordable housing and replaced it with skyscrapers, luxury developments and a private rental market that creates wealth for owners and impoverishes everybody else. The book also advocates for councils to take back control over the development process.
Monday 12th February 2024, Priced out of renting in the Calder Valley?
Tom Archer, Senior Research Fellow, Housing and Community at Sheffield Hallam University
Cath Miller, Homelessness Manager – Strategy at Calderdale Council
Nicola Kyser-Forrest, Homelessness Service Manager at Calderdale Council
Dom Furby, former CEO of Calderdale SmartMove
Many people in the valley are struggling to find affordable & secure rented accommodation. What is an affordable rent? How can we create more affordable rented homes? Come and listen to our speakers and share your ideas.
Monday 28th November 2022, How to reduce the impact of Airbnb on affordable homes
Download audio recording of the meeting
Speakers:
Isaac Rose, Community organiser and researcher at Greater Manchester Tenants Union
Emanuele Dal Carlo, Co-founder and president of Fairbnb.coop
We are hoping local estate agents will share their experiences of the local market.
The final meeting in our autumn 2022 series is a constructive meeting to hear about the impact of Airbnb on the local housing market and more importantly how you can influence keeping affordable homes available for the local community.
Monday 10th October 2022, Retrofitting your home to reduce energy bills and climate impact
Download audio recording of the meeting
Speakers:
Sally Stone, Reader in Readaptive Reuse, Manchester School of Architecture
Jack Richards, Architect & Retrofit Coordinator, Editional Studio
David Nugent, Chief Executive, Canopy Housing
The Second of our 2022 events has 3 excellent speakers and 3 local people kindly sharing their experience of retrofitting their own homes.
Monday 12th September 2022, Decent Homes in Older Age
Download audio recording of the meeting
Speakers:
Jenny Pannell, Almshouse Researcher, University College London
Tina Wathern, Director of Education and Engagement, Stonewall Housing
Maria Brenton, UKCN Ambassador on Senior Cohousing, Newground Cohousing
The first of our 2022 events has 3 excellent speakers who will be sharing creative ways that communities can address this issue.
Monday June 4 2018, So what’s all this about a housing crisis?
Speakers:
Alison Wallace, Centre for Housing Policy, University of York
Heidi Wilson, Strategic Housing Development, Calderdale council
Fahmida Rahman, Resolution Foundation
Monday July 2 2018, Housing: what can community-led initiatives achieve?
Speakers:
Jo Lavis, National Community Land Trust Network
Bill Bewley, Keswick Community Housing Trust
Jimm Reed, Leeds Community Homes
Wednesday August 22 2018, Making New Housing Sustainable and Energy Efficient
Speakers:
Duncan Roberts, architect, formerly at Centre for Alternative Technology (18 Mb file size)
Marianne Heaslip, URBED
Andy Brown, Carbon Conversations
Monday September 24 2018, Ethical Investing in New Housing
Speakers:
Hugh Rolo, Locality
Jamie Hartzell, Ethical Property Company
Monday October 29 2018, Putting the Vision Back into Public and Council Housing
Speakers:
John Boughton, Author, Municipal Dreams: The Rise and Fall of Council Housing
Prof. Rebecca Tunstall, Joseph Rowntree Professor of Housing Policy
Eileen Short, Chair, Defend Council Housing campaign
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