Review of the Year 2014: January

The year began with the start of a campaign to help a little boy from Hopton to walk unaided for the first time.
JANUARY 2014 Sam Bottomley who was able to have a potentially life-changing operation thanks to community fundraising. (d544h435)JANUARY 2014 Sam Bottomley who was able to have a potentially life-changing operation thanks to community fundraising. (d544h435)
JANUARY 2014 Sam Bottomley who was able to have a potentially life-changing operation thanks to community fundraising. (d544h435)

Six-year-old Sam Bottomley has cerebral palsy, and his parents set up the Sam’s Wish To Walk campaign to raise £35,000 for an operation to help the muscles in his legs to move more freely. It went on to raise more than £50,000 and the operation went ahead in September.

The future of Batley’s legendary Frontier nightclub appeared uncertain after it was revealed developers were considering the site for a shopping centre or office complex. A director of Leeds-based Landmark Development Projects 2000 Limited spilled the beans during a Batley History Group meeting – but the club was still open as the year drew to a close.

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Couples were forced to cancel honeymoons and search for new wedding venues when Whitcliffe Hotel in Cleckheaton suddenly closed and it seemed unlikely deposits would be returned. But there was a happy ending for Aidan and Mel Hainsworth who were inundated with discounted offers from other venues after the news of their plight was published in the Spenborough Guardian. They opted for the Gomersal Park Hotel.

A multi-million pound cash injection was set to secure the future of the Dewsbury Rams for years to come. A full size floodlit all-weather sports pitch and two floodlit all weather multi-use games areas were promised by developer Harron Homes as part of its plans to build 206 homes nearby. It won approval from the Secretary of State earlier this month.

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