Today in St George’s Square, people showed a lively interest in signing Incredible Edible Mytholm’s petition asking Calderdale Planning Committee to refuse the supermarket and hotel planning application for the Mytholm Works site on King Street, Hebden Bridge.

To date, just over 300 people have signed the petition.

If you haven’t signed yet, but would like to, the online petition will stay live until 5pm on Sunday 1st December. Here’s the link to the online petition: Click here 

Gordon (right) and members of the public finding out about the petition

Gordon Rimer, the Incredible Edible Mytholm management committee member who organised the petition stall, said,

“It’s interesting hearing all the different views about the planning application. What I’m saying to people is, that the planning application’s a very bad idea, it’s all about making the site more expensive,  and putting it out of the reach of any local business that might want to buy it and put it to good use. Because no supermarket or hotel is associated with the planning application, or wants to locate on the site. The planning application’s totally fictitious, as far as we can see.

“Someone asked me what Incredible Edible Mytholm’s strategy is. That depends on what the Planning Committee decides on Tuesday. The management committee will consider IEM’s options at our next meeting, when we know what the situation is. But we’re guessing that the Planning Committee decision might not be the end of the story. Because either the Coop may go to judicial review, or the site owners may go to appeal, depending on what the Planning Committee decides.

Incredible Edible Mytholm wants to go ahead with our plan to buy the site and set up the community-owned sustainable food and manufacturing business that we’re planning, that will also work as a visitor attraction and include an eco-hotel. But obviously that depends on whether the site stays affordable.”