Kirklees plan for thousands of homes branded ‘not sustainable’

Coun Robert Light urged residents to vigorously oppose the local plan published by Kirklees Council which sets out where development should take place over the next 15 years.

The council has calculated 30,000 homes will be needed over that period but 10,000 are already being built or are in the pipeline through planning permissions.

It has also set out proposals to use 264 hectares of land for businesses to create 32,000 jobs by attracting new employers and keeping existing firms in the district.

If adopted, the local plan would see land previously earmarked as greenbelt at Ravensthorpe and Chidswell allocated for housing.

The authority argues there is not enough “deliverable” brownfield land in the district to meet the demand for homes and business space.

Coun Light said: “We urge people to lodge their views on Labour’s local Plan with the Council, because this will impact on the lives of everyone in the borough for years to come.

“We believe the plan is bad for Kirklees and is not sustainable without a massive investment to overhaul the transport infrastructure of the borough.

“We will be looking at Labour’s proposals in detail and the impact that they will have in all communities across Kirklees.

“We will be closely examining their justification for their intended incursions into green belt and the increased allocation of land for housing proposals.

“In addition we will be taking note of the results of their consultation exercise with great interest.”

Local plans have proved controversial across the region as councils try and meet the demand for housing land while facing public opposition to development.

Council planning officers have frequently warned that the absence of a local plan that includes realistic provision for housing puts authorities at greater risk of having their planning decisions successfully challenged by developers.

York has seen one of the fiercest battles over how many houses should be built.