Villagers oppose plan to rename miners' welfare hall

Residents objected to the idea at a parish council meeting on Wednesday

A row has broken out in a South Yorkshire village over plans to change the name of its miners' welfare hall.

The building was given to Great Houghton, near Barnsley, by local pit workers, and their descendants believe it should retain its links to the area's mining heritage.

Great Houghton Parish Council has instead proposed renaming it in tribute to long-serving councillor Dorothy Higginbottom, who died aged 81 in 2022 after sitting on the parish council for 50 years.

Opponents said the hall belonged to the mining community and that the original name should remain.

Around 30 people attended a public meeting on Wednesday to voice their concerns, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

John Foster, a former parish councillor for Great Houghton, told the meeting that the hall had been given to the parish council by the miners when they could no longer financially support it.

He said: “We’re all either miners or the children of miners and we feel passionate about it.

“We’re having to fight for something that belongs to us. I want you all to have a total rethink."

Another resident at the meeting said his father died of a mining-related illness after 42 years working underground.

“My grandad did, my great-grandad did. Where are their names, who gave their lives for it (the welfare hall)?"

'We have listened'

Mrs Higginbottom was described by her family as a "stalwart" of the community and she played an important role in the miners' strike.

She helped at soup kitchens during the walk-out in 1984 and organised the Great Houghton Summer Gala.

She was given an MBE for her public and voluntary service.

Responding to the residents, Mrs Higginbottom's daughter and parish council chair, Dorothy Coates, said their views would be considered before a decision was made.

She said: "Please don’t presume that we don’t care about the miners.

"There’s nobody more dedicated to the miners than me.

"We have listened. The biggest thing I’ve taken away is the passion that you’ve got for it. It will be considered."

Five men died in a pit disaster at Houghton Main Colliery in 1975. The mine closed in 1993.

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