Sponsored by
Royal approval: You've done a great job, says Prince Charles on Sowerby Bridge visit
A FLOTILLA of Sea Scouts and rows of flag-waving youngsters marked the Prince of Wales's return to Sowerby Bridge after an absence of 21 years.
In 1987 Prince Charles came to see riverside mills being transformed into apartments.
Yesterday's visit was to witness progress on another pet project – restoring the town's unique collection of canalside warehouses.
The Prince told those involved: "What you have done here is exactly what I wanted to see when I established my regeneration trust more than a decade ago.
"It has become the catalyst for regenerating the whole of Sowerby Bridge."
During his two-hour stay he gave the Royal seal of approval to what has been a labour of love for Mark and Roma Andrew.
When they came across the 18th century Salt Warehouse in the early 1970s it was in imminent danger of collapse.
They formed a trust to repair it and turn it into a home for the 12th Halifax Sea Scouts, a job the prince's trust helped to complete.
Prince Charles officially named the premises The William Andrew Memorial Headquarters after Mr and Mrs Andrew's son William, a Sea Scout killed in a road accident in 1983.
Mrs Andrew said: "We had faith in what we were trying to do for Sowerby Bridge and thankfully others picked up the baton and ran with it."
Another warehouse restored by the Sowerby Bridge Wharf Partnership in 2001 is now used for a variety of purposes including The 12.04 restaurant, run by Michelle Hind.
In the crowd yesterday was pensioner Jean Macdonald, who said: "I was here to see the prince last time and it's always lovely to have such a famous face in town."
Five-year-old Libby Race, of Bolton Brow Primary School, said: "I was really excited and have been practising how to curtsey."
Annabelle and Harriet Parker, pupils at Bowling Green Primary School, Stainland, presented the Prince with flowers.
Courtney Kerr and Zoe Hollingdale, both 10, from Bolton Brow School, said: "We were nervous but he had a big smile on his face and was really nice to us."
The Prince met Nigel and Susan Stevens who run the Sowerby Bridge boat hire company Shire Cruisers, Anthony Parker, manager of The Moorings pub, and David Johnson, of the Temujin restaurant.
He met representatives from Calderdale Council, British Waterways, Yorkshire Forward and the Heritage Lottery Fund which pumped more than 2 million into the scheme.
Comment
Email to a friend
Print this page- A58 crash UPDATE: road now re-open after man hit by car earlier this morning
- Crash on the A58 in Halifax this morning UPDATE: Man in hospital with several broken bones
- Taxi worker dies aged 35 after finishing his shift
- Man suffers serious injuries in accident on M62
- How the new Halifax Central Library will look
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Halifax
Saturday 11 February 2012
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: -1 C to 0 C
Wind Speed: 8 mph
Wind direction: South west
Tomorrow
Cloudy
Temperature: 2 C to 4 C
Wind Speed: 9 mph
Wind direction: North west
