Amazon confirmed as company behind huge warehouse near farmland in Yorkshire

The revelation came in a letter to Batley and Spen MP Kim Leadbeater from ISG Retail Ltd (Bristol), the company that submitted the plans for the farmland close to junction 26 of the M62 at Scholes.

It said: “Amazon will be the operator of what will be a fulfilment centre.”

The news will come as no surprise to local people who have led a vociferous campaign against the project, which last year appeared to receive the controversial backing of Kirklees Council’s leader.

The plan for the 59-acre site between Whitehall Road, Whitechapel Road and the motorway has been back and forth to committee but is not expected to be on the agenda again until the summer.

However Ms Leadbeater has now called for a fresh public consultation.

Reacting to the ISG letter she said: “I can’t for the life of me understand why they refused to be open about this from the start. If they had, National Highways and others could have taken into account the company’s previous track record with buildings on this scale.

“Before any decision is made there needs to be a fresh public consultation based on what we now know along with a reappraisal of the impact on the roads network and the local environment.

“This must take into account not only the fact that the proposed development is much bigger than the one outlined in the council’s own Local Plan for the area, but also the combined implications of this and other developments around Chain Bar roundabout and the M62 in particular.”

She said the Amazon proposal would be “damaging enough by itself” but when combined with a new garden village planned for just across the border in Calderdale and other developments nearby, it would place “an intolerable strain” on the local area.

She added: “Residents have been at a disadvantage from the outset thanks to the ‘presumption in favour’ of development imposed on councils through the government’s National Planning Policy Framework.

“I strongly believe, however, that a decision like this that will affect the lives of people across a wide area for many years to come must be taken on the basis of all the facts.

“After today’s revelation I am more convinced than ever that the Amazon warehouse should not go ahead.”