MP helps pigeon fight take flight
Leigh MP Andy Burnham got the bird when he visited a pigeon loft threatened with demolition – and was asked to choose a name for a new flyer!
The Culture Secretary was taken to the Grade II-listed loft, known as a cree, on an allotment in Ryhope, near Sunderland, by local MP Fraser Kemp.
English Heritage granted it listed status in 1998 but the land's owners, Newcastle-based Worktalent Ltd, want to redevelop the allotments.
Owner, 75-year-old Maurice Surtees, and 21 other allotment holders have vowed to save the loft and the surrounding land and their efforts have been backed by local campaign groups and MPs.
Mr Surtees chatted with Mr Burnham about his fight and allowed him to name a racing pigeon the "Everton Flyer" – in honour of his support for the football club.
The Sunderland supporter told the Mr Burnham: "Your team is playing us
at the weekend. You need a bit of luck, so I've got you a pigeon, a blue one.
"I've called it Everton Flyer.''
Mr Burnham said: "I could call it Yakubu, but Everton Flyer sounds great.''
Mr Surtees, a retired miner, said Mr Burnham's visit would help the campaign to stop the redevelopment.
He added: "We have got local people behind us and I think Mr Burnham's visit will make a big difference."
The wooden cree at the Ryhope Street South allotments was built in 1955 by Mr Surtees and his late brother, William.
Despite failing health, the plucky band of pensioners said they would not give up.
Mr Surtees said: "I had a heart attack about 10 weeks ago and among the group of us we've had another five heart attacks and a major stroke."
The allotment holders were offered a 250,000 compensation package to move out, but they all turned it down.
Another developer has started talks with Worktalent hoping to broker a deal to save the site.
Mr Surtees said: "My message to the developer is if he has got any decency, take the offer and leave us alone..''
Mr Burnham said: "The cree is a unique piece of culture in this part of the world.
"I represent an area similar to this one in the North West and from my point of view heritage is not just in other parts of the country.
"We have got to celebrate our culture wherever we find it. The cree is listed for a good reason. I know there is a decision on-going and it is not for me to intervene in that.''
The row has reached Parliament where Mr Kemp tabled a Commons motion backing the pigeon fanciers.
The motion, supported by 25 MPs, called for the allotments to be held in trust by the community and "provide facilities for local children to enjoy and understand horticulture and the care of pigeons.'.
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Tuesday 07 February 2012
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