Petition fights plan to build on land used to film Kes

A PETITION against plans to build on land in South Yorkshire where the 1969 film Kes was shot has been signed by more than 1,200 residents.

In Barnsley’s Local Plan, adopted in 2019, land to the north of Hoyland Common was allocated for residential and employment, land to the west of Hoyland and Hoyland Common was for employment and residential, and land to the south of Hoyland was for residential development.

The Hoyland North section of the plans has been approved by Barnsley Council, while plans for Hoyland West are at public consultation stage, and Hoyland South plans are due to go to public consultation soon.

Residents raised concerns about pressures on infrastructure such as healthcare and education. Although plans are in place for a new school to be built by 2023, no plans have currently been made for further healthcare or education provision.

However, an online petition has called for plans to be halted, saying that the destruction of the environment and wildlife is ‘unnacceptable’, and has reached 1,270 signatures. Mark Goodison, a Hoyland Common resident set up the petition. He said: “The great British film Kes is set around the villages of Hoyland and Tankersley, at Junction 36 of the M1 between Sheffield and Barnsley – the exact location for this proposed development.”

Councillor Tim Cheetham, cabinet spokesperson for regeneration and culture, said: “The Local Plan was adopted by Barnsley Council in January 2019. This was the culmination of five years’ work, including several public consultations and a twoyear public examination, during which proposals to allocate areas of land around Hoyland were scrutinised in detail.”