'Swapping a community's heart for a car’s engine': Coal Carrying race under threat from petrol station plan
A plan to demolish an Ossett pub and replace it with a 24-hour petrol station have faced backlash over its potential impact on the World Coal Carrying Championships.
The former Royal Oak Inn pub, on Owl Lane, could be demolished to make way for a 24-hour petrol station after a planning application was submitted to Wakefield Council.
The site has been vacant since the pub close in 2024.
A planning statement provided on behalf of the developer said: “Its redevelopment offers an opportunity to enhance the appearance of this part of Owl Lane while providing a valuable roadside facility for local residents, passing motorists and nearby businesses.”
However, the development may cause problems for Gawthorpe’s world-famous Coal Carrying Championships.
The annual event’s current start line is measured from the Royal Oak pub sign, through to the Maypole Green in Gawthorpe village, where the race finishes.
If the pub was to be demolished, the starting line would have to be moved.
Coun Duncan Smith, who is also president of The Gawthorpe Maypole Committee, said: “If the pub is demolished, a world-famous tradition could lose its historic checkpoint.
"Changing the course would mean those recognised records will have to be consigned to history and effectively have to start again over a different course.”
The Committee has shared that there would be “practical concerns” if the petrol station was to be built, including controlling road closures during the race.
The site also lies within the Green Belt, which means that developments should only take place if there are ‘exceptional circumstances’.
Coun Smith continued: “You can’t put a price on the atmosphere of the World Coal Carrying Championships, replacing a historic checkpoint where generations have cheered on the runners, with a jet wash, feels like swapping a community’s heart for a car’s engine.”
Speaking to Coun Smith, residents shared their concerns over the plans stating they have fears of increased congestion, the impact on their home and quality of life and noise and light pollution.
Coun Smith stated: "For all these reasons, harm to the Green Belt, traffic and amenity concerns, and the risk posed to an internationally recognised community tradition, I will be urging the Local Planning Authority to refuse this application.”