Objections to increase in tours of Emmerdale

THEY OFFER visitors a chance to follow in the footsteps of Yorkshire soap stars and experience the popular fictional village of Emmerdale.

And as tours of the set grow in popularity, ITV now want to extend visiting hours at the site in Leeds’s Harewood Estate and increase the number of coaches permitted to enter, so it can accommodate more people.

But not everyone is happy. A total of 12 objections have been lodged against the plans, with concerns about the volume of coaches passing through nearby Weardley village.

A public meeting was held in the area by Harewood councillor Ryan Stephenson last week, for people to air their views. The councillor said the proposals would be a “nightmare” with the existing coach route and is asking for an alternative way for coaches to access the site to be put forward.

The proposals involve increasing the number of coaches accessing the site from two to three per hour and extending the opening of the tours, which operate on weekends, by two hours during April to September, with the last tour starting at 6pm.

Planning documents submitted to Leeds City Council state: “The tours of the film set have proved more popular than anticipated and are bringing great economic benefits to the area through increased tourism. The tours are almost always fully booked.”