Time to get town clock ticking again

4:26am Saturday 17th May 2008

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Shoppers have been signing a petition to get Shipley's iconic clocktower ticking again.

Andy Rowley has taken it on himself to set up the petition to stop the market town being stuck in time.

This week he went on a mission in the market square to collect as many names as possible to free the landmark clock from its time warp - it has been stuck at 11.25 for the past five years.

Mr Rowley said: "There's a strong feeling about us not having a clock. It's a pretty poor show for the town and doesn't make a good impression on visitors.

"People have been saying the town's going down hill, not going anywhere.

"Having a clock not working for the last five years suggests no one cares about Shipley and that's not right. People are quite passionate about getting it working again." Shops around the market square have also been collecting names for the petition which Mr Rowley plans to hand over soon to MP Philip Davies so he can join the Save The Clock campaign.

Last year engineers carried out tests on the 1960s tower and shopping centre that it sits above to see if it was worth fixing the clock.

Estimates were that it could cost about £40,000 to put right because the stairs leading up to it were not safe.

A decision on the clock tower's future was supposed to be made in September by its owners, London Associated Properties, but there has been no news as yet.

The owners were looking at the idea of removing the tower, building a new entrance and flats above the shops instead, but Shipley people want it to stay according to Mr Rowley.

He said: "It's not the most beautiful of buildings but it is a landmark and is part of our heritage. It should at least have a clock on it."

One of the shoppers who signed the petition was Cynthia Hargreaves. She said: "Of course the clock should be working, there's no point it being there otherwise, it just looks stupid."

Mr Davies said: "I absolutely support this petition. It's an iconic piece of heritage in Shipley and it's shambolic that it hasn't been working."