Boat owners' launch hopes dashed by lack of access
Boat owners are furious at a local pub landlord who refuses to grant access to a boatyard in Mirfield, near Huddersfield, West Yorkshire.
The landlord of the Navigation Pub on Station Road, has defied court orders to remove a metal bollard that is impeding access to the boatyard for large vehicles, such as cranes, which are essential for launching vessels into the River Calder.
Retired TV presenter Wilf Lunn, 65, (pictured) who presented several popular 1970s TV shows, including Jigsaw, has spent hundreds of hours restoring Sally, a 1950s sea boat. But the dispute between the pub and the Mirfield Boatyard is threatening to scupper the whole project.
A spokesman for Kirklees Council said: “It is a public right of way and any obstruction that prevents access is not permissible. We will investigate.”
Boatyard owner Christine Kirk said: “We can’t get anything in or out including, deliveries or emergency vehicles. The business isn’t going to be worth anything if the access road is blocked.”
The pub landlord was ordered to remove the bollard in 2004 by Huddersfield County Court but no action has been taken so far.