CONTROVERSIAL UPGRADE OF BUTTERLEY LANDMARK

flooding.

The work entailed raising the spillway walls and replacing the steep section with a straight slope to ensure flood waters are contained within the channel.

Kirklees Council initially refused permission for the work but the company appealed and planning inspector Jennifer Vyse overturned the decision.

Retired civil engineer Colin Anderson then made a legal challenge on that decision but lost.

Yorkshire Water said since the decision, it had worked hard to engage with the community and local interest groups to ensure their views were taken into consideration.

The company agreed to replicate the existing small steps within the spillway, retain two thirds of the existing spillway walls and re-use the original coping stones where it was possible to do so.

In addition to this, the new higher walls have been clad with natural sandstone and the majority of keystones within the spillway have been kept.

Lee Laherty, Yorkshire Water Project Manager, said: “We knew that the spillway was a much-loved local landmark and we worked hard to design a solution that’s sympathetic to the local surroundings, whilst ensuring it meets legal requirements.

“Over the last 15 months, we’ve tried to support the town of Marsden in a number of ways including working with local schools, supporting the Holme Valley Mountain Rescue Team and sponsoring the increasingly popular Marsden jazz festival.”

The huge engineering project was recognised by the Institution of Civil Engineers earlier this year, when it won the coveted “Smeaton Award” and for Public Relations in 2016 for its community relations campaign.