VILLAGERS will fight for a new cash machine tomorrow.
Some 160 residents have signed a petition supporting Kirkburton Post Office’s proposal to install the ATM.
But Kirklees Council planning officers have recommended that permission is refused, saying the cash machine would cause road safety problems.
The council’s Heavy Woollen Planning Subcommittee will rule on the proposal at its monthly meeting at Dewsbury Town Hall tomorrow.
The post office applied for the cash machine after the village lost its only ATM when the HSBC branch closed last year.
Since then BT has installed a phone-box style cash machine outside the George Inn on George Street.
Council planners have recommended that the post office is denied planning permission, saying the cash machine would be “visually harmful” in a conservation area.
Planners also fear road safety problems if customers queue outside the post office on North Road, forcing passing pedestrians to walk on the road.
Kirkburton Conservative Clr Christine Smith will speak in favour of the cash machine at tomorrow’s meeting.
She said: “The ATM would ensure the viability of the post office, and rural post offices need all the help they can get. All the villagers want this to go ahead, particularly elderly people who will be able to take money out when they visit the post office.”
