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And Finally Artist News
Cheshire councillor raises concerns about Harry Styles fans wandering around star’s home town
By Chris Cooke | Published on Tuesday 20 September 2022
A local councillor who represents the Cheshire village of Holmes Chapel has raised concerns about Harry Styles fans trudging along the narrow footpaths of the busy A535 in order to see the viaduct where the pop star once scrawled his name and the alleged site of his first ever kiss.
According to Cheshire Live, the sudden insertion of some Harry Styles trivia into an otherwise routine meeting of the Cheshire East Economy And Growth Committee took the other councillors in attendance somewhat by surprise.
But, councillor Andrew Kolker explained, while residents living in the place where Styles grew up are happy to welcome the pop star’s fans into their village – you know, providing they spend some money in the local shops – there are concerns about the safety of said fans as they check out all of the many (five, I think) Styles-related sights and sounds that the village has to offer.
“In Holmes Chapel we have a lot of teenagers, both girls and boys, coming to see the sights and sounds of Harry Styles, which is absolutely no problem. It’s lovely to see them in Holmes Chapel”, he told the committee.
However, he went on, one particular sight that is seemingly a must-see for anyone undertaking the Harry Styles Holmes Chapel pilgrimage is the Twemlow Viaduct just outside the village because, you see, it “has Harry’s name scrawled all over it, apparently from when he was a young youth, and that site’s a popular site for teenagers, as is the site of Harry’s first kiss”.
“This is fine”, Kolker mused on, except that you get to the viaduct by walking down the A535 which “is an extremely busy road and it’s a very, very dangerous road to walk along”. In fact, Kolker added, piling on the drama, “it’s an extremely dangerous road with very, very limited parking and footpaths. I just wonder whether officers from this committee could have a look at this particular detail”.
Committee Chair Nick Mannion was seemingly keen to reassure Kolker that Cheshire East Council has plenty of experience in dealing with problems of this kind.
I mean, who could forget that time officials had to deal with the lack of toilets at Plumley Station, which became a big old issue when Take That fans started catching trains there so to gawp at the Cheshire homes of the boyband’s members. And did any Take That fans explode due to the lack of toilet provisions in Plumley? No, they did not.
That said, Mannion added, Harry Styles fans wandering down the A535 – dangerously or otherwise – are not technically the remit of the Cheshire East Economy And Growth Committee. However, he was certain the local police would intervene if there were safety issues.
“I’m sure if Mr Styles’ popularity is generating such concerns they will take the appropriate action”, he concluded, before adding that Kolker’s pop trivia contributions to his committee’s latest meeting meant he had “learned something new this afternoon”. So, at least something was achieved.
Of course, as we all surely know, you can also get to the viaduct by going down the Hermitage Drive and then cutting across the fields by the River Dane, and that way you don’t touch the A535. So maybe Kolker could just persuade the pop star to sing about that route in a song – and then maybe bring out a line of sturdy Harry Styles branded field-proof walking shoes – and all will be fixed.
Until giddy Styles fans start falling in the river, I guess.
