Yorkshire Water has  modified its plans to  upgrade the spillway at a  Marsden reservoir.

Residents have been angry at the  plans to concrete the spillway at  Butterley Reservoir.

Yorkshire Water  has now agreed  to make concessions that it says  will cost over £1m more.

Concrete will still be used, but it  will be stained, and traditional  stones will be used in the scheme.  The spillway walls will also be  made higher using stone from the  site.

The new planning application to  Kirklees Council from Yorkshire  Water states: “The revised plans  will see us going well beyond what  we’re required to do, with the extra  changes costing an additional  £1.2m, taking the overall cost of  the scheme to nearly £6m.

“These changes include re-using  the masonry from the spillway to  clad its outside walls, staining the  concrete floor of the spillway on  completion, stepping the spillway  every 300mm, re-using the existing  coping stones and taking a mould  of the old wall to ensure that the  new one blends in as much as  possible.”

Yorkshire Water says the new  spillway scheme is necessary to  ensure the Colne Valley village is  never flooded.

The original scheme, which was  mainly to simply concrete over the  spillway, met with resistance from  campaigners and Colne Valley MP  Jason McCartney who had wanted  it left intact.

Now, after tests revealed the  spillway’s walls are in better state  than first thought, the company  has said it intends to build on top  of the existing walls rather than  re-enforcing them with concrete.

A Yorkshire Water spokesman  said: “Yorkshire Water is seeking to amend its current planning  application regarding vital  improvements to its Butterley spillway to ensure it remains safe.

“The decision follows ongoing  consultation with the local community and recent investigation  work by the company which  revealed that the spillway walls are  in a better condition than first  thought.

“As a result, the company is  proposing to leave the current walls intact and instead raise their  height, utilising locally sourced  stone, in order to ensure they are  best able to deal with greater  flows.

“The company is committed to  ensuring the existing structure is kept as intact as possible whilst  ensuring that residents of Marsden  remain protected from the risk of  dam failure.”

Community Engagement Manager John Bond added: “Over the  last 18 months we’ve extensively  consulted with local residents and  stakeholders to try and ensure that  we have a solution that is not only  safe but one that also protects and  preserves the existing structure as  much as possible.

“Whilst our plans are still being  finalised, the fact that we’ve made  these amendments demonstrates  that we have been listening and  we’re committed to continuing  our ongoing dialogue with all  interested parties.

“The company now expects its  application to be considered by Kirklees Council in November.”

Colne Valley MP, Jason McCartney, said he had met with Yorkshire Water boss Richard Flint earlier at  the Conservative Party Conference  in Manchester after raising the  matter in parliament.

He said: “It really is an iconic  Victorian structure and we want  them to bend over backwards to  find a way to keep it that way.

“If they’ve managed to find a  way that will be very welcome –  even if it costs more – as, after all,  this is a company making millions  in profits.

“It sounds very promising but we  will wait to see the revised plans.”

For more information, visit: yorkshirewater.com/Butterley