Plans to shut Bronte-link museum set to be dropped

The proposal by Kirklees Council to close Gomersal’s Red House Museum was described by the Bronte Society last week as “an act of vandalism on the tourist industry”. Red House was once the home of Mary Taylor, a close friend of Charlotte Bronte.

The council’s Cabinet committee is now recommending that the museum stays open.

Plans to charge residents for the removal of bulky waste also look set to be dropped.

Council leader Mehboob Khan said: “We have proposed to save Red House Museum – it is an important part of our history and we want to look at more innovative ways of generating the income needed to keep it running, or look at how we might make the saving elsewhere.

“Bulky waste collection is another area where we feel that imposing a charge at this time may lead to the council paying the shortfall in a different way, through having to deal with an increase in fly-tipping for example.”

The authority needs to reduce its overall budget by £64m.