Annex
West Gateway Project Cleckheaton
1. This Project was undertaken in 2002 by
Spen Valley Civic Society to improve the west entrance to the
town, which is straddled by a stone railway bridge.
2. Next to the bridge there was billboard.
We persuaded Kirklees to issue a Discontinuance Notice. Mills
and Allen Agency appealed and an Inquiry was held. The appeal
was dismissed and the billboard was removed.
THIS PROCESS
TOOK FOUR
YEARS
3. The Society then obtained a £7,500
grant from the Biffaward landfill tax fund.
4. We loaded 10 tonnes of rubbish into skips.
5. We paved the area.
6. We installed a seat and a historic plaque.
7. We sand blasted the bridge.
WE TRANSFORMED
THE ENTRANCE
TO THE
TOWN CENTRE
Aspects of interest
8. The billboard had been erected without
permission.
9. It took 3 years to get the council
to do anything
10. And then another year to get it removed.
11. 10 tonne of litter had built up.
If it had not been possible to remove the hoarding
the scheme would never have happened.
MESSAGE
It is possible to remedy environmental harm
caused by unauthorised fly-posting (in this case a billboard)
and littering but it is too difficult. Voluntary groups such as
us cannot do it all or even much of the work. The problem is far
too great.
It was too easy to put up the billboard in the
first place and too hard to remove it. No wonder local authorities
are timid in what they hope to achieve.
February 2004
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