Plan to demolish Redbeck Motel in Crofton set to be approved

Plans to demolish a motel visited by music icons including Tom Jones, Diana Ross and Shirley Bassey have been recommended for approval.

Renowned for its breakfast special, the Redbeck Motel on Doncaster Road in Crofton, Wakefield, was established in 1969 and is open 24 hours a day.

Developer Yorkshire Choice Homes applied for outline planning permission to build 90 houses on the site, with almost 200 nearby residents objecting to the plans.

Recommending approval, a Wakefield Council report said the proposals complied with local and national planning policies.

A number of district and parish councillors have also lodged objections to the scheme since it was revealed in January last year.

Some said it would put pressure on local infrastructure, with others claiming it would create further congestion and road safety issues in nearby Crofton village.

Famed for not closing its doors for over five decades, the business had recently become “unviable”, according to documents submitted to the authority.

Maureen Cummings, councillor for the Crofton, Ryhill and Walton ward, said: “Doncaster Road is already a car park at peak hours.

“To add 90 homes with a possibility of 180 further vehicular movements at key times would cause a traffic nightmare.”

Wakefield Civic Society described the building as having “literary significance” due to its links to the Red Riding novels by West Yorkshire-born author David Peace.

The developer offered to compile a “social history” of the business if the development went ahead.

A heritage statement submitted on behalf of the applicant said it had close connections with the former Batley Variety Club and Wakefield Theatre Club during the 1970s and 1980s.

“Customers during this period included Tom Jones, Jack Jones, Diana Ross, Danny La Rue, Shirley Bassey and The Three Degrees,” it said.

“The Redbeck has also featured as a location in the television serial Emmerdale and other dramas.”

One local objector wrote: “I’ve been going to the Redbeck for over 40 years. It’s the best food in the area. Leave it alone. It’s a national treasure.”

Five people commented in support of the development, with one describing the project as “a good investment for the owner and they should be allowed to sell up if they wish”.

Recommending approval, a council officer wrote: “There are considered to be no technical reasons to withhold planning permission.

“In weighing together all relevant factors, the proposal is considered, on balance, to constitute sustainable development.”

The proposal is set to go before the authority’s planning committee on Thursday, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.