Teenager Emily challenges owners of dangerous Gomersal building

A teenager has taken one of Gomersal’s biggest problems into her own hands, as she demanded answers from the owners of a dangerous building.
By The Newsroom
Published 28th Oct 2014, 09:34 BST
EMILYS MISSION Emily Warrillow, 13, has written to the owners of the Maccess building pleading with them to demolish it.(d535c443)EMILYS MISSION Emily Warrillow, 13, has written to the owners of the Maccess building pleading with them to demolish it.(d535c443)
EMILYS MISSION Emily Warrillow, 13, has written to the owners of the Maccess building pleading with them to demolish it.(d535c443)

The former Maccess building has been a source of controversy for years, attracting antisocial behaviour and numerous fires.

It got to a point where 13-year-old Emily Warrillow could no longer take anymore, and she wrote a letter to Mark Whitehead, of the building’s owners Castlerock Capital.

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It read: “Gomersal is a lovely village with a good community and lots of families,” she said.

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“Currently there is one thing that is spoiling our community and putting my friends in danger, and that is your building on Spen Lane.”

The letter goes on to say that young people are attracted to the building, and that she believes it to be structurally unsafe, and a danger to people entering it.

The letter finished: “Please, please can you demolish the building and make Gomersal safe again.”

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In response to Emily’s letter, Mark Whitehead sent an email to her, which stated: “I understand your concerns and I take seriously your points that you have raised in your letter. We have over the years spent a vast amount of money on securing this property. Unfortunately, there seems to be a very large part of your community who are very destructive and who constantly vandalising my property.”