Stings can only get better

A street name has stirred up a hornets’ nest in Mirfield!
The Wasp Nest Pub on Nab Lane in Mirfield. (D541E447)The Wasp Nest Pub on Nab Lane in Mirfield. (D541E447)
The Wasp Nest Pub on Nab Lane in Mirfield. (D541E447)

Local councillors thought “Wasp Nest” would be the perfect street name for a new development of 12 homes, as the Wasp Nest pub, off Nab Lane, will be demolished to make room for the new houses.

But council officials have given the idea the thumbs down, saying the developer thought people would not want to live in a place called Wasp Nest, and that the name conjures up an image of danger.

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Mirfield Town councillor James Taylor (Con, Northorpe) said: “It is ridiculous to suggest that people wouldn’t buy a house because of the street name.

“When people think of Butt End Mills, you don’t think of peoples’ backsides, and there’s Dark Lane in Huddersfield, but the sun still rises there. So it’s daft to assume you’ll get stung by a wasp on Wasp Nest Drive.”

Kirklees Council planners had asked people to submit suggestions for a street name.

Wasps Nest has historical connotations that stretch back to the 18th century with links to the early Luddites.

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But the email from Kirklees planning officers said: “The council received a number of suggestions, several to keep ‘Wasp Nest’ in the street name.

“We have discussed name suggestions with the developer and although the site has history connecting it to Wasp Nest the developer does not feel that such a name is commercially viable. The council feels such a name conjures up mental connotations of stinging and danger and would much prefer to find a name that has nothing to do with any sort of insect.”

Kirklees councillor Martyn Bolt (Con, Mirfield) said: “The council should be fully supporting local people, locally elected members and local history rather than developers who in the majority of cases have no long-term stake in the community.