A retired civil engineer has vowed to fight on after losing a High Court bid to save a unique piece of Victorian heritage.
Colin Anderson, 66, of Golcar, raised £12,000 in donations to take the battle for Butterley Spillway before a judge.
Mr Anderson claimed a planning inspector had acted unfairly in refusing him permission to outline alternative work for the reservoir overflow at a public inquiry.
The case was heard by Judge Behrens in Leeds earlier this month and on Friday the judge delivered his verdict, backing the inquiry inspector.
Mr Anderson, who raised £12,000 online to fund his legal costs, heard the court’s decision for the first time from the Examiner.
He said: “This is not the end of the story by any means and I will need to speak to my barrister.
“There are other things we can do and this is not over.”
The ornate stone structure in the Wessenden Valley near Marsden is owned by Yorkshire Water.
The company claims it needs extensive repair, and after considering seven possible schemes, sought permission for a proposal that involved replacement of the spillway’s existing walls with new raised sides in reinforced concrete to approximately 2.6 metres high.
Mr Anderson, backed by action group Save Butterley Spillway, said the work would destroy the historic feature.
However, the judge upheld a decision of the inspector after Kirklees Council had initially refused consent.
The judge ruled that while there were breaches of the relevant rules, he held that they did not render the inspector’s inquiry “procedurally unfair.”
He said: “When I stand back and look at the decision letter it is plain that the inspector has looked carefully at the issues.
“She has correctly summarised the legal position both in relation to her role, the damage to heritage assets and the requirements of the Reservoirs Act 1975.
“She had to balance the need to virtually eliminate the risk of failure of the dam against the damage to the heritage asset.
“As a matter of planning judgment she concluded that none of the other schemes were demonstrated as being as safe and would not comply with the Reservoirs Act.
“In my view that was a conclusion she was entitled, indeed it might be suggested bound, to reach on the evidence.”
The judge added that he was satisfied that Mr Anderson had had “a reasonable opportunity to present his case and that he did.”
He said that tests had shown that the spillway at Butterley is at risk of failing, under even relatively small floods.
He added: “If the spillway were to break up during a flood, the structure would quickly and progressively deteriorate. If it were to collapse, or water were to leave the spillway, that could lead to the erosion of the earth dam here which, in turn, could lead to a catastrophic failure of the structure.”
