The Black Bull public house in Mirfield is not just any old building. A fixture in the heart of Mirfield since 1755, it has a great deal of historical and sentimental significance in the town. Small wonder then that hundreds of local people turned out today to protest against the site being used another in the many "Express" stores being planned by supermarket giant Tesco.
The protesters gathered outside The Black Bull to take part in a demonstration against the plans. This was followed by a public meeting at St Pauls Church on Huddersfield Road to determine the next stage in the campaign to stop this development going ahead. The meeting was strongly supported by Kirklees Councillors Martyn Bolt, Kath Taylor and Vivien Lees-Hamilton, Parish Councillors Elizabeth Armitage, John Sutcliffe, Alan Burton, Mark Hamilton, Janet Hirst and Andrew White (whose own greengrocer business would be threatened by this proposal) and Mirfield Town Mayor Pat Sutcliffe.
Speaking at the meeting, Simon Reevell MP encouraged everyone present to involve friends and family,
"The only way to stop them is to go away and come back stronger with everyone we know.
"We need to give such a show of strength that they think it is not worth bothering.
“Tesco is an enormous company that has dealt with problems like this time after time after time.
“The only real way of stopping them is to make them think the grief we’re giving them in the media isn’t worth it because their image is suffering too much.”
Business owners and residents were given the opportunity to share their concerns for the impact the store could have on the area if allowed to go ahead. Everyone present was encouraged to write to Kirklees Council Planning Department to register their objections.
The deadline for the consultation is August 29th.
To register your concerns contact: e mail: [email protected] or write to: Planning Department, Kirklees Council, Civic Centre 3, Market Street, Huddersfield, HD1 2TG