PLANS to preserve an ancient village monument could include moving it.
The Emley Cross, which dates back to the early 13th century, was struck by a bus last May, smashing a large chunk off the lower part of the plinth.
The 800-year-old structure, which is a listed Ancient Monument, was shunted off its mark at the junction of Church Street and Upper Lane.
Villager Colin Hadfield said he had been at a Kirklees Council meeting last year, before the incident, where Highways officials had said they wanted to move it six metres (18ft) up Church Street to protect it from turning traffic.
And he said he feared the smash would persuade the council to act.
A spokeswoman for English Heritage yesterday confirmed that Kirklees would be allowed to move it if they wanted to.
The spokeswoman said the monument was a grade two listing and so was completely the responsibility of the local authority.
But a spokeswoman from Kirklees Council said no decision on the future of the cross had been made.
She said: “The stone of the cross itself appears to have suffered damage from the coating of concrete render which has been in place for some years.
“This will need to be addressed before anything else is decided.”
Denby Dale councillor, John Cook, said he and his ward colleagues were due to meet highways officials at the site in the “near future”. He said he thought the monument needed protecting but didn’t think it should be moved.
Mr Hadfield, who is involved with efforts to restore the damaged cross, said something needed to done as there was often “utter confusion” by motorists trying to navigate the junction.
But he said he thought any move to re-locate it would be unpopular and that making the double junction into a single one would solve the problem.
He said: “They’re still on about moving it but the monuments people aren’t going to stand for it. It’s been there for 800 years.
“We have worked up a plan and we’ve looked at this for ages and we thought it was crazy to move it.
“We said it’s not safe, all it needs is a bit of white paint to make the centre of the road run up to the cross.”
Mr Hadfield has also presented a petition to Kirklees to get HGVs banned from the route.
He said: “There’s new EU legislation that’s going to lumber us with 60 tonne wagons – it’s bad enough with 40 tonners.
“If we get 60 tonners coming through – they will blow it to smithereens if they hit it.
“This is what happened when a bus just brushed it and that’s bad enough.”
It is not the first time the Emley Cross has been damaged by a large vehicle.
In May, 1961, it was hit by a lorry owned by a Selby firm as it tried to avoid a parked van at the entrance of Church Street, severely damaging the base.
Speaking to the Examiner at that time, local woman Bertha Gerrard, said: “The market cross always gets a coat of whitewash before Emley feast weekend.
“My father used to do it and before him my grandfather.
“We have whitewashed it for many years and this is the first time it has not been done.”
The base was repaired and cemented in but it is now thought that the lime in the cement has damaged the ancient monument beneath.
Villagers and council officials are now appealing for old photographs of the monument in its original form to help the restoration project.
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