'Brilliant' wildlife spotted after revamped park opens

A West Yorkshire park has reopened to the public after flood improvement works were carried out to better protect the local area and introduce new wildlife habitats.

Wellholme Park in Brighouse has undergone natural flood management measures such as the installation of new flood storage areas and the removal of old weirs as well as the introduction of wildflower meadows and wetlands.

To mark the reopening, visitors were invited to take part in a discovery trail on Wednesday.

Local resident Graham Wilkinson, who regularly visits the park with his grandchildren, said: "The wildlife is going berserk. Butterflies, moths and all sorts...It's brilliant."

"They've spent a lot of money on it. It's amazing how nature's come back and just taken over everything", he added.

Improvements have also been made to Clifton Beck to support a healthy and resilient fish population, as well as improved access and more "welcoming spaces" so the park can be enjoyed year round, according to Calderdale Council.

John Whittington, who is involved in organising Park Run in Brighouse, said: "We now have a more scenic, decorative course.

"Hopefully, Park Run Brighouse will be back towards the end of September."

The works are a partnership between the Environment Agency and Calderdale Council to reduce flood risk for homes and businesses in Brighouse and are part of a wider £31m flood management scheme for the area.

However, one local mother, Naomi, who said she visited the park regularly with her children, described the changes as a bit "disappointing".

"The space we've lost - we used to play rounders here and we've gained what I feel is a bit of tarmac and weeds," she said.

The wider scheme was due to be delivered in March this year but has been pushed back until March 2028, according to a West Yorkshire Combined Authority (WYCA) report.

The report partially attributed the multimillion-pound project's delay to an adolescent badger that had created an "underground home" at the site.

It also outlined other reasons for the delay, including poor quality material that was unfit to be reused and disruption from Storm Claudia in November 2025.

Tracy Brabin, Mayor of West Yorkshire, said: "With record-breaking heatwaves in the summer and one-in-a-hundred-year floods in the winter, now is the time to invest in Brighouse and beyond to protect homes and businesses, boost wildlife and biodiversity, and create a greener, nature-rich region that works for all."

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