Pride in Marsden’s iconic Butterley Spillway shone through as campaigners urged a planning inspector to reject Yorkshire Water’s £6m repair plans.
But Yorkshire Water fought back, saying their proposal to repair the Grade II listed spillway is the only practicable option and has been proposed by the most respected reservoir expert in England.
Yorkshire Water need consent to use concrete to repair the stone spillway, saying it’s needed to prevent flooding if Butterley Reservoir bursts.
The ornate water management feature, built between 1891-1906 by Thomas and Charles Hawksley, is unique in its design.
The Save Butterley Spillway (SBS) team summed up their case, saying Yorkshire Water had “underestimated from the outset the significance of the heritage asset.”
Diane Ellis, of SBS, told Planning Inspector Jennifer Vyse that Yorkshire Water’s “blinkered” engineering solution has “suffocated creativity and willingness to engage with independent creative minds in pursuit of measures that could mitigate risk and reduce harm to the heritage asset.”
SBS add that employing standard engineers has resulted in a standard solution not befitting the spillway’s listing.
David Manley, QC, for Yorkshire Water, said ideas mooted in opposition, such as a supplementary spillway, pinning blocks to the concrete or a design competition were not credible.
He said: “The local authority refused this application one year ago – they’ve had one year to come up with a feasible alternative option. Likewise SBS, who have worked their socks off, have had a great deal of time in which to investigate other potential options and the bottom line is other than splitting the flow there are none.”
On the final day of the inquiry SBS challenged one of Yorkshire Water’s witnesses over heritage issues.
Eileen Thomas, a conservation expert, conceded the “loss of the cascades in the immediate vicinity will be less spectacular but from a distance it will still be seen as a glittering line of water” adding: “It’s a pity the cascades will go. For those who know it they will walk by and say ‘what a pity’, but for new people passing they will still see an attractive feature in a stunning setting.”
The judgement will be reserved and made public at a later date when the planning inspector has assessed all the evidence.
