I’m not behind ‘Save Castle Hill’ stickers, says councillor
ON-STREET CAMPAIGN BRANDED ‘FLY-POSTING’
POSTERS and stickers proclaiming “Save Castle Hill” have appeared on lamp posts, litter bins and roadside power boxes.
And they direct people to an online petition at Change.com – ‘Do you want to protect Castle Hill?’ – set up by a Kirklees councillor.
Signatures on the petition, started by Clr Bernard McGuin on behalf of the iconic landmark in Almondbury, are on the up.
But Clr McGuin has denied responsibility for the on-street campaign and says he considers it to be fly-posting.
“It’s nothing to do with me,” says Clr McGuin, who was re-elected last week.
“What’s more I don’t want to be
The Coast & Country Hotel Collection is a family of 38 hotels throughout the UK in wonderful locations – the kind that are on
everyone’s list of must-visit places.
We’re by the seaside.We’re in the heart of the countryside.
We’re in pretty villages and bustling towns.
The very best of British – fun, busy, vibrant and historic. associated with it. These signs are annoying everyone.
“They’re in Huddersfield town centre, Waterloo, Lepton, Thurstonland, even Holmfirth.
“People have been complaining to me, but I haven’t put them up or asked anyone else to do so.
“I’ve been put in a really poor position.”
As of Wednesday the petition stood at 1,046 names. It argues that the current application by the Thandis “is not the answer” for what should be built on the flattopped Iron Age hill fort, which can be seen for miles across Kirklees.
Clr McGuin’s petition ‘Do You Want to Protect Castle Hill?’ refers to the decision last October by Kirklees Council’s Strategic Planning Committee to approve a lowlying cafe/restaurant with bedrooms and interpretation facilities for visitors plus a car park atop the hill.
The vote went through 4-3, with four Labour members backing the development.
The petition highlights that the development is planned by entrepreneur brothers Mick and Barry Thandi, who caused outrage when they flattened the original Castle Hill Hotel in 2003.
The original stonework was also controversially disposed of. Last year Clr McGuin, a vocal critic of plans for Castle Hill, warned the
I don’t want to be associated with it.
These signs are annoying everyone
committee it would be “guilty of condoning vandalism on a muchloved site” if it gave the green light to the scheme.
Architect Kevin Drayton has previously described Castle Hill, which includes the 1890s Victoria Tower, as “the premier heritage asset of Kirklees and certainly the most prominent”.
He has said the public benefits of the Thandis’ scheme “are enormous in themselves but they may be the catalyst that sparks a beneficial wave of general regeneration.”