The mayor of Workington and his deputy have teamed up in a bid to prevent a popular pub from being demolished.
A bid to support the delivery of the Workington Gateway Project – a £9.1m scheme to address pinch-points for HGVs in the town – was submitted by Allerdale Council to the Government’s £4.1 billion Levelling Up Fund on Friday.
The project would see improvements through road widening at Ramsay Brow and Hall Brow (A596/A66) to help access to employment sites at the north of the town and Port of Workington.
But a council report from programme director Kevin Kerrigan has revealed that the development would involve the demolition of Henry’s pub on Bridge Street.
Councillors Herbert Briggs and Will Wilkinson were outraged by the “ludicrous” proposal.
Coun Briggs said: “It’s a building that has been there for hundreds and hundreds of years and there is nothing wrong with that building. It’s well used by pubgoers.
“Workington is a good circuit – it was once voted the best circuit in the north and they are just demolishing it. It is ludicrous.”
Coun Wilkinson said the move would be yet another blow to the town’s heritage.
“I am severely disappointed,” he said. “The building has heritage links to the Henry Curwen family, it was built in the 1700s and was named after Galloping Harry.
“This is more of our heritage being taken away and before long we won’t have any heritage left.”
Coun Wilkinson was also concerned about the potential pollution impact and the lack of use he felt that the new junction would see.
He argued – as an experienced, professional HGV driver – that drivers would take alternative and more direct routes from the Port of Workington regardless of the junction.
He said: “I believe this to be a sticking plaster over a gaping wound. It doesn’t alleviate any kind of issue.”
The report, published on the council’s website, said: “The proposed junction improvements will require the acquisition and demolition of the public house know as ‘Henry’s’ as well as adjacent buildings.
“The county council are seeking to negotiate the purchase of the land required but it is recognised that it may ultimately be necessary to acquire the site by way of a Compulsory Purchase Order and the delivery programme has been developed on this basis and taken into account in term of the risk register that has been developed for the project.”
A new ‘super crossing’ could also be created on Washington Street to make it easier and safer for pedestrians to move from the shopping centre to Curwen Park and Workington Hall, while a cycle path could also be built in Curwen Park to run parallel to Ramsay Brow and connect to the National Cycle Network.
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