Facebook-f
A stylized illustration of a castle or clock tower on a hill, with stone steps leading up and green foliage surrounding the pathway and hillside.

MENU

MENU

Facebook-f
  • Follow Us
Facebook-f

About Holmepride

How we started

History of Holmepride

In February 2017, Win and Karen Harrison read a Facebook post by a local Holmfirth resident to see if any other people were  interested in cleaning up around Holmfirth. So, I (Win.) went along for this meeting in The Nook which was attended by c.26 people.

At this meeting, someone came forward with the name “Holmepride” (having pride in the Holme Valley), so the name was agreed by the assembled. After 2 of these meetings their interest started to wane as people appeared uninterested in get togethers.

An older man with a bald head, mustache, and light complexion smiles at the camera. He is wearing a light blue collared shirt and standing in front of a yellow background.

Win

Older woman with short blonde hair and glasses, wearing a light blue cardigan over a white top, smiling softly in front of a yellow background.

Karen

A smiling older woman with short blonde hair and blue eyes, wearing a black and beige patterned top, looking directly at the camera.

Anne

So, with no working capital, Karen and I spent £700 of our own money to purchase litter pickers, patio scrapers, painting materials and black Hammerite paint. We started to organise events and local people responded, clearing pathways, removing cable ties, painting litter bins and litter picking.

We were asked to tidy up an area in Daisy Lane at the rear of the Holy Trinity Church by Holmfirth’s oldest building Th’Owd Towser, built in 1597, a grade 2 listed building. We had a really good turnout, with over 20 volunteers cleaning the old setts in the lane. This post reached 34k people, which came to the notice of Kirklees Council who became a bit concerned on this success story, and we were asked to become a constituted group.

In October 2017 a meeting was held in the Postcard pub, and with nobody else wanting to take up the mantle, I put myself forward. Mrs Anne Rollinson volunteered to be our Treasurer and Karen stepped up to take the Secretary role, as all 3 roles are needed to operate a constituted bank account.

It was at this stage we changed the name to Holmepride – Community in Action, becoming well respected for getting things done with a current Facebook following passing the 3.4k milestone in May 2025.

Five people wearing high-visibility vests stand smiling behind large bags of garden waste in front of a stone building, suggesting they have completed a community gardening or clean-up project.
Two women wearing high-visibility vests work together to clear plants and weeds from stone steps outside a building. One is crouched down, smiling at the camera, while the other stands behind.

To date our biggest achievement was to raise £23k, to have a new wheelchair friendly allotment built at Holmfirth J&I School…

…with 7 raised beds, security fencing, greenhouse, storage shed and stocked with tools and plants. Which included a dozen fruit trees around the fencing perimeter, where children were also given Spring bulbs to plant. The allotment was then opened by the Mayor and Mayoress of KIrklees Council, Nigel and Judith Patrick.

A group of people rakes leaves and collects debris into green bags along a forested trail, surrounded by trees and greenery. A wooden bridge is visible in the background.
A person wearing a yellow safety vest and gloves is using loppers to trim branches in a wooded area. An open green bag sits on the ground nearby, surrounded by leaves and brush.

We work closely with J&I schools, not only within the Holme Valley, providing them with litter picking equipment to use by their pupils around their school grounds and also local parks closest to them. There are Adventure Scouts, Scouts, Cubs, Girl Guides, Brownies, Beavers and Rainbow youth groups, all schools and youth groups who request our litter pickers annually, some twice a year.

It’s very important to us, to engage children of the Holme Valley, in the community where they live and with litter picking. Which the children love to do as they see this like a litter treasure hunt and are eager to show how much they’ve collected and what they’ve collected. On a recent Beaver litter pick of Sands Rec. the children were asked about the importance of not dropping litter and the effects this can create.

Each year we also offer High Schools 12 hours of community work per student who need to complete this stage of their Duke of Edinburgh Bronze Award tasks. In 2024, 3 lads from Holmfirth High School, who worked on their DoE Bronze Award completed all required tasks, receiving their awards in early 2025. In 2025, we currently have 3 girls and 1 lad working on community tasks.

Our group’s aim is to welcome anyone who can spare their time to help make where we all live the best we can make it for the benefit for all.

A person wearing a yellow high-visibility vest and jeans uses a power washer to clean moss and dirt off stone pavement next to a brick wall.
A person in a dark jacket uses a long brush to clean a park sign on a roadside, with trees and additional signs visible nearby. The ground is wet, suggesting recent rain.
A woman wearing a yellow reflective vest and gloves is gardening outdoors, smiling while working with plants near a building. There is a large wrapped tree or plant lying on the ground in front of her.
""
""