Plan to build new houses on former mill site which burned down almost 20 years ago

Developer Joe Bottomley Ventures wants to build the homes on the former Clough Mills site at Shelf and has applied seeking outline planning approval to Calderdale Council.

The 1.8 acre site at Halifax Road is close to a main route linking Halifax and Bradford and a mix of two, three and four-bedroomed homes is planned, although at this outline stage only highways matters would be in consideration.

In the 2000s, successful planning applications to develop the site for business were successful. The historic mill buildings had been destroyed by fire in 2005, but the site is allocated as potential site for new homes in Calderdale’s Council’s draft Local Plan.

Councillors will vote in coming weeks on whether to adopt the plan, which a Planning Inspector overseeing the process says subject to modifications she believes need to be made can be found “sound” and will shape where around 10,000 new homes can be built into the 2030s.

The application – number 22/01351/OUT – can be viewed on the council’s website, with accompanying planning and design and access statements. The 16 dwellings are arranged to allow for a route through the site, with the addition of a turning point which can be used by a refuse vehicle.

Green spaces have been retained and maximised to reduce the development’s effect on the local ecology and to improve quality of space for residents, argue supporting statements submitted with the application by Aew Architects.