Gove ‘will intervene’ in health and safety row over White Horse
MICHAEL GOVE will intervene in a health and safety row which is threatening to end 50 years of work by volunteers to maintain one of Yorkshire’s most recognisable landmarks, an MP said.
The Environment Secretary has stepped in to try to help resolve a dispute between volunteers who maintain the White Horse in Kilburn, who fear their work to maintain the carving could be over, and the Forestry Commission, according to Thirsk and Malton MP Kevin Hollinrake.
In March, the commission, which owns the land, said only its employees and contractors could be used to maintain the landmark, which has been seen around the world thanks to the growing popularity of the Tour de Yorkshire.
The commission has insisted that the slope on which the horse is carved is too dangerous to navigate without proper special equipment.
But after lobbying from Mr Hollinrake, Mr Gove is set to hold talks with Forestry Commission CEO Simon Hodgson to try to find a way round the impasse.
Tory MP Mr Hollinrake said: “I’m pleased and heartened that the Environment Secretary understood the need to support local volunteers and am hopeful that a suitable resolution can be found quickly.
“The White Horse Association have done a brilliant job for 50 years maintaining one of North Yorkshire’s most iconic images and we need their help to secure the horse’s future for this and the next generations.”
The horse is said to have been fashioned after the similar carving at Uffington in Berkshire, but that one was etched into the area’s naturally white chalk.
At Kilburn, a new coat on the pale limestone is necessary every few years – a job the association has taken on.
Kilburn White Horse dates from 1857, when its outline was marked out by the village schoolmaster and his children before being cut into the limestone.