Trouble at mill...
Fury at luxury homes plan for ‘Last of Summer Wine’ village
VILLAGERS in Last of the Summer Wine country are fighting the latest plans to turn a historic textiles factory into luxury homes.
Holmbridge, near Holmfirth, West Yorks, had a starring role in the long-running BBC sitcom, as the location where the women joined Dame Thora Hird’s character Edie in cursing men and setting the world to rights.
But now the village fears that the future of the community and its tourist industry is at stake over plans for the former wool factory.
Developers have long been trying to convert the site into housing and have now revised their plan for Grade II listed Hinchliffe Mill, which dates from 1832 and was once the lifeblood of the community.
They now want approval for 19 “one-anda-half” storey houses on the former textile works, rather than the 24 three-storey homes initially sought.
The land was earmarked for housing 10 years ago but locals resisted the proposed development, next to the town’s Yorkshire stone cottages. They say roads, often too narrow for two vehicles to pass and with no pavements, will be swamped with traffic, endangering primary pupils and driving tourists away.
And it is feared woodland and wildlife will be devastated, along with the Hinchliffe Mill Conservation Area and protected Green Belt land. Protesters warned planners that “aside from the loss of the ambience, character, unspoilt views, road congestion and parking” the scheme will devastate tourism in Holmbridge and Holmfirth.
Hinchcliffe Mill is a popular stop for Last Of The Summerwine fans to catch a glimpse of the stone cottage where house-proud Edie Pegden lived with her screen husbandwesley the mechanic.
Dame Thora Hird played the role until the age of 91 and her double-checking she had locked the front door became one of the show’s longest-running gags.
Summing up 85 individual protest letters, retired vicar Steve Davie, 69, chairman of Holmfirth Conservation Group, said that the impact on the village could be “dramatic”.
He said: “Holmfirth is in a deep valley and the roads are narrow and slow.we are looking at over-development which will generate too much traffic.
“We do not need more luxury housing. A lot of it is already too expensive. Development needs to suit the area.”
But developer MD One Ltd said: “We have ensured the updated designs and site layout are sympathetic to the conservation area and industrial past of the site, while providing well-designed contemporary dwellings.”