Brewer backs down over bid to block Tadcaster bridge rebuild

The brewery at the centre of a bid to sink plans to rebuild Tadcaster's fallen river bridge has withdrawn its objections to the project.

Samuel Smith Old Brewery had instigated a challenge to Selby District Council as it prepared to to sign off on a planning application that would enable the severed halves of Tadcaster to be fully reunited by Christmas.

The proposals, which would see the rebuilt bridge widened to allow for greater pedestrian access, had already been agreed at a meeting of the district's planning committee when the objection dropped into officers' email accounts.

Penned by Stuart Vendy of Cunnane Town Planning, a Manchester-based planning consultancy, the objection took the form of a seven page missive that sought to spook council planners into halting the scheme before approved plans could be formally issued.

Mr. Vendy urged the council to go back on its decision and refuse planning consent for the widened bridge, claiming the proposed scheme would contravene planning rules on development, conservation, and assessment of flood risk. He also suggested that procedural issues in the handling of the application could leave any planning approval susceptible to legal challenge.

Selby's lead planning officer disagreed however, issuing a robust defence of her department's handling of the application. In a highly unusual reply to the objection, Ruth Hardingham rebutted the brewery's claims and insisted that the council's decision would proceed unchanged.

Smith's intervention in the matter was seemingly not well appreciated among the long-suffering residents of Tadcaster either. Protesters from the town had been organising to march on the brewery's High Street headquarters this Friday, in a show of support for the proposed wider bridge.

But, in a somewhat surprise move, the brewery – headed by controversial beer magnate Humphrey Smith (pictured above) – finally withdrew its objection to the scheme earlier today. The move now clears the way for construction to begin in earnest.

♦ What do you think? Was the brewery right to intervene or is Tadcaster being held to ransom? Scroll down to leave your comments on this page...