Suggestion to rename Miners’ Welfare Hall retracted after huge backlash

Councillor Ashley Peace made a suggestion to Great Houghton Parish Council that a former councillor’s name be added to the village’s Miners’ Welfare Hall.

He said he ‘can only apologise’ after the suggestion caused upset among residents, many of which felt the name of the hall should remain the same to reflect the village’s rich mining history.

Councillor Dorothy Higginbottom MBE served on Barnsley Council for more than 16 years, and almost 55 years on Great Houghton Parish Council.

Following her death in 2022, councillor Ashley Peace suggested that the parish council ‘consider renaming the Welfare Hall’ in her memory.

After residents attended Great Houghton Parish Council’s meeting earlier this month to object to the idea, councillor Peace has now withdrawn the proposal.

The fallout from the suggestion has led to the resignation of parish councillors resignation, as upset residents urged the council to have a ‘rethink’.

Other suggestions to remember Coun Higginbottom’s lifetime of service included a memorial garden.

Coun Peace told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that he feels he has a ‘responsibility to comment on behalf of the residents who elected me to represent them’, and withdrew the suggestion.

“Residents have clearly expressed their views and l’ve listened. I recognise there is no appetite for the name change.

“I implore the parish council to listen to the concerns raised, and withdraw the proposal in its entirety,

He added that the suggestion was made ‘in good faith’, and not to ‘take anything away from the miners or their families’.

“l’m incredibly proud of our villages rich mining history, and will continue to do all I can to ensure future generations have the same commitment to honouring their heritage. I know this has caused many to be upset and angry and for that I can only apologise.

He added that the community and council should ‘work together’ to decide on a fitting tribute to former councillor Higginbottom, ‘in recognition of her decades of service to the village and the Barnsley borough’.

John Foster, a former parish councillor for Great Houghton who objected to the renaming, said the suggestion should ‘never have been made in the first place’ and added that the ‘storm is not going away’.