Moving to Sowerby Bridge - can you tell me anything about it??

[makemineamagnum]

Hiya,

We're moving to Sowerby Bridge because of DH's job. Neither of us know the area at all really, do any of you looovely MNetters know it?

Which areas should be avoided? Which primary schools are ok?
FYI - Ideally we need to be able to get to the train station either walking or on the bus.

All info gratefully received!

Wish i could help as I used to live in Halifax but don't know SB really.

Bumping for you hun

BTW if you do a search of properties for sale in SB on rightmove & click on the property & then click 'local map' you can see the nearest schools & view the ofsted reports. it also tells you how close the house is to the station. hth

Triangle is nice but you would probably need to get a bus to the train station as it's just over 1.5 miles.

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live about 8 miles from there ,cant tell you too much about it but if you would like to meet up when you move i'll show you round the best places nearby ! my email is [email protected]

when are you moving?

I was just checking my name change had worked!!

We used to live in SB but we moved away when our oldest was about 1. Therefore do not really have any idea about the schools.
It is a hilly place as you might expect in the Pennines. Was good for me walking up the hills with a baby in the pram though!

I would avoid the centre like the plague and personally there are some new builds (it was an old mill site that the car park used to flood all the time) I cannot remember the site name but if you asked I could probably confirm it.

The positives for us were:
Train station - used to commute to Leeds / Manchester
Regular buses - again for nights out - when we were young and the night out in Halifax appealed to us!
Lovely restaurant - Gimbals I think it was called.
Ok for a night out.
There is a Lidl! (moneysaving!)

The negatives for us were:
Our neighbours
No where for child to play as we had no garden.
The park seemed a bit "rough"

However, I would not move there with a young family - how old are your children?

Triangle is nice, I suspect Sowerby itself it quite nice and there are probably regular buses there although you would have to check that out as I personally would not want to be walking up there too often!

Copley is nice and the primary school is great - would have been my choice had we still lived there so I have read the reports and the kids always used to look happy!

Ripponden is very very popular - very nice but not my cup of tea. It is too far out of the way for my liking and I believe there is an extra charge for parish council on the council tax. You would have to check that out. Also, there seems to be a status symbol about living there and people want to live in a box in Ripponden rather than live in a more suitable house in another "less glamorous" area.

I do know, Barkisland primary is another good school, but a bit further away.

I have to pop out now but will be back later and will check in the thread to see if I can help further!

Let me know if I can

SB is biggish, busy through-traffic, has good market, is building decent new swimming pool. Good train links for Manchester and Leeds.
Hebden Bridge has good train links, is more hippy-ish but has good cafe/bistro lifestyle, but lots of tourists in summer. More relaxed and laid back, lovely park and pubs. I would prefer to live there.
Round Saville Park is lush, pricey but some beautiful houses. Would need to get bus to Halifax for train though.
Many v good primary schools in Calderdale, check ofteds, they vary in size more than anything.
Where are you moving from?

Hiya,

Thanks so much for all the responses. Answering your questions: We have 6 month old, moving from York, moving as soon as our house sells!

Maybe we should look in Hebden Bridge too then, though I think that it is a bit more pricey there so might be out of our range.

Iused to live there - I think the new build in the centre might be 'Fairbanks'. We've looked at it but I don't think it would be good for us. Does that name sound familiar?

Mytholmroyd is another option. Has a station, is in between SB and HB, and is cheaper than HB. Has good schools, several playgroups/nurseries. Also holds the World Dock Pudding Championships each spring!
You will need to go and nosey round yourselves. Have a friend in village of Midgley, nr Luddenden who's house is for sale! Its v nice, small garden, lovely location, 3 beds end terrace. Will try find a link! just under 200K I think.

Cheery I was about to ask about Mytholmroyd!!

My sister used to live there until about a year ago - she rather liked it, and definitely preferred it to Hebden, but then she'd rather live somewhere she thinks is down-to-earth than somewhere she thinks is a bit twee, if you know what I mean. The nightlife is bizarrely good - there's a few nice restaurants down in the old dock area, plus a lovely local pub where they have live music, and another pub where Branwell Bronte used to drink but which she says is grim. Good walks along the canal to Hebden Bridge, and stunning countryside. She would tell you to check flooding if you're buying a house down in the valley.

Is your partners job in Sowerby Bridge?
Do you drive?
DO you need access to the station to get to work?

I think it depends on where his job will be etc.
I personally would feel a bit cut off from everything living in Mytholmroyd, Hebden Bridge as it's a bit of a drive/bus to Sowerby Bridge.
Have you already been over to look at different areas?

Hi MMAM,

Fairbanks is not the one I was thinking of, have tried to google the one I am thinking of, but cannot find a site name. If you want to run anymore by me, it might help.

Grendelsmum - am I your sister? Actually, I don't have a sister and we moved quite a while ago, but we used to enjoy the moorings area - pubs, restaurants etc. I also felt "cut off" somehow when I went to Hebden Bridge.

Have been pondering today whilst I have been out and about and other information / activities we used to do were:
Bike rides / walking / running on canal
There are lot of restaurants that are surprisingly good.
Someone mentioned the new sports centre / swimming pool which is being built.
Fab chocolate shop
Dh still raves about the household tip

There are quite a lot of things to do with your LO that are not too far away. Do you drive? I can give you some ideas if you wanted.

Thank again all, answers to questions: DH's job not in Sowerby Bridge but nearby (could switch to a Halifax office if he wanted to though), DH needs to get to work by train/bus/bike, I drive, have looked at some surrounding areas but not at Hebden BridgeMytholmroyd in any detail.

I've seen some nice houses in the Savile Park area, quite like the look of there - this sort of area on the centre of this map.

Also seen a nice one on Rochdale Road at the top of Crow Wood Park, roughly where this bus stop is marked on this map

What do you think?

With ref to the first one, that is the middle of Saville Park. Houses might be pricey but it is a nice area. My friend lives near the hospital - if using your map, more South West on your map. Think the prices may be cheaper there - perhaps a few are rented out for hospital staff. There are new houses on the old infirmary site, but do not think these would be ideal with a 6 month old - not sure if they have any / much garden.
I am guessing you might not be after something new? Do you have any preference?

I would personally avoid the second one - near the park I thought was quite rough. It is a nice park though IFYWIM. From memory, I think some of the houses are nice up there.

Although that said, if you looked more at Pye Nest which again is a nicer area than the centre of SB, that is only on the other side of that park.

You need to get a feel for some areas, can you schedule a visit?

iusedtolivethere Pleased with your description of the Savile area I linked, thats what I was hoping you would say!

Re: the other one, again what I was expecting you would say. We viewed a house there this week and it was lovely but whilst the surrounding area looked presentable we couldn't decide how rough/not rough it was.

We spent an afternoon with estate agents in the area this week and had a walk around with friends in SB this weekend so we're slowly getting a feel for it but its hard to take it all in when its such a new area and completely unknown IYSWIM. Just don't want to buy and regret it. Mind you, need someone to buy ours first!!

Savile Park is where I used to live (some of my family still do) - I went to Crossley Heath Grammar School at the top of the moor. It is a lovely area to live. Have you seen a house you like in SP?

If we ever return to Halifax (not on the cards in the immediate future) I would want to live in SP again. Awwww memories

Personally I wouldn't live in Sowerby Bridge but would choose one of the places around it. SB seems to have an increasingly bad reputation and Crow Nest Park is quite often reported by the local paper as a 'no-go zone'. Copley is nice and I agree that the primary school is really good. Savile Park is nice but there's a big difference in house prices depending which side of the 'moor' you live! The hospital side is regarded as posher than the Free School Lane side!
I have lived in Hebden but wouldn't choose to live there again (partic with children). There are too many parents that my old health visitor described as 'no boundaries parents' for my liking . A visit to Hebden Park can feel like you're looking after every child in there while the new influx of 'Boden Hippies' ignore them!
Mytholmroyd is nice. Only a couple of miles from Hebden but you get more for your money there and more houses tend to have a garden - rare in Hebden. There's a station, lovely restaurant, great Primary School (infact there's a choice of two), good High School, walks along the canal path, fab countryside on your doorstep and it's so much nicer than Sowerby Bridge!
I don't know how old your DCs are but if High School is looming this must be a major factor in deciding where you live. Calderdale still has 2 Grammar Schools (one on Savile Park). If you move to Savile Park and your child doesn't pass the 11+ the choice of High Schools is pretty dire. If you live in Sowerby Bridge the local High School hasn't got a very good reputation. You might just get your children into Ryburn (at Sowerby) which is a really good school but heavily oversubscribed. If you live in the Calder Valley instead (Mytholmroyd, Luddendenfoot, Hebden) the local school is Calder High with a really good reputation.
Sorry about the long post but I hope it helps. Feel free to ask anything else. Just thought - what about the villages above Sowerby Bridge - Boulderclough, Hubberton, Sowerby? They are in the Ryburn catchment area and you get the advantages of 'rural' life while being really near Sowerby Bridge.

I'd also have a look at the Evening Courier (daily)to get a feel for Halifax/Sowerby Bridge life and the Hebden Bridge Times (weekly) for an idea of what goes on in the Hebden/Mytholmroyd area.

I think Crow Wood Park is a lovely park, not at all rough. Maybe it's bad at night?
Houses tend to get snapped up if they are round the park.
Pye nest is quite rough though.
Disagree that Sowerby Bridge is getting a bad rep, the other way I think, there are lots of great restaurants - Gimbals, Cafe no 5,
The Works is a great pub - although Lockeepers is v rough!
The moorings and the area around the wharf is fab. Sowerby Bridge is having alot of money spent on it and I think is viewed as an up and coming area!
Do you need to think about catchment areas for schools?
Warley is a lovely village school, and Friendly is close by.
Norland is a great school, as is Barkisland and Copley.
I agree Savile Park is a great area with good schools.

Thanks all, there is a lot to think about there.

I think that our best bet will be the Savile area, or maybe Mytholmroyd. Would love to consider some of the villages in the surrounding area but limited by the need for train links.

ptangyangkipperbang When you say 'there's a big difference in house prices depending which side of the 'moor' you live' do you mean north and south of Skircoat Moor Road? When you say the hospital side do you mean the Calderdale Royal Hospital or the Royal Halifax Infirmary? (I think we can only afford the cheaper side!!)

The 'posh' side is where the new hospital is. Free School Lane is where the old infirmary is and house prices are definitely cheaper as there are big houses on the main road but they back onto lots of terraced houses. It's a really nice area though.

Skircoat Green (near the new hospital) is a good place to live with children as it has quite a community feel to it with a row of shops, library, etc. The houses are cheaper than the ones directly on Savile Park as they tend to be smaller. Some of the ones on the posh side of Savile Park are MASSIVE! Skircoat Green is only a few minutes walk to Manor Heath Park which is really nice. It's also only about a 10 minute walk into the centre of Halifax.

If your DH is relying on public transport to get him to Sowerby Bridge there's a bus that goes up Free School Lane every 30 mins which will take him there.

I live in one of the villages along the Calder Valley and there are very few schools that I wouldn't recommend. I don't live in Mytholmroyd but would definitely recommend it. See if there are any houses for sale on Scout Road. A great school, playing field, a park that's getting done up and about 2 minutes walk from the station. Oh and DS1 says I have to tell you that his friend's mum lives on Scout Road and is a childminder!

Basically there are loads of nice places to live around here but Sowerby Bridge isn't one of them

Hi
If you tell us what your budget is & what you are looking for we could link possible houses in the SP area?

HH - We'd be looking at about 155K, minimum 3 beds, ideally off street parking with some sort of garden that could be made safe for a toddler. Let me know what you think. Cheers!

MMAM,

Go and have a look at Mytholmroyd and Saville Park. IMO, they are very different, if you let us know which you prefer, what you like about each, we can also point you in the right direction!

I do not know how your figure of 155k will stack up in SP. I will have a nosey around and get back to you.