School up in arms at KFC restaurant plan

Canklow Woods Primary executive head teacher John Henderson says the proposal for the site of the former Canklow Hotel has left him incredulous.

Mr Henderson said that, in association with Whiston Worrygoose Junior and Infants’ School, with which Canklow Woods has linked up, pupils had been encouraged not to have junk food.

“We’ve done this over a period of time, only to see this KFC plan emerge. Nearly all of my children would come past it as they go to and from school.

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“I’m not being critical of parents, but there’s the ‘mum, can we have one?’ factor and it increases the opportunity of not eating healthily.”

Mr Henderson’s objections have been echoed by parents and councillors, although Andrew Denniff, executive director at Barnsley and Rotherham Chamber of Commerce, said he thought it was wrong to put obstacles in the way on an international company which wanted to invest in the town.

KFC says that the proposal will make a positive contribution towards the regeneration of the disused site and “complement existing retail.”

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A statement added: “In recognition of the school location, beyond the bend, it is proposed that this site has a controlled service delivery time, to ensure that the service vehicle does not attend the site within 30 minutes of the school start or finish times.”

A decision is expected to be made by the council’s planning board on July 21.

IT'S DISGUSTING  . . . parent's reaction to KFC plan. See this week's Advertiser.