Electric vehicle charging scheme and changes to planning policy approved among key decisions made by Kirklees Council
It has been a key month for Kirklees Council as several major decisions have been agreed.
At the full council meeting, members voted to amend the council’s constitution to reflect national reforms to the planning system by 54 votes to eight.
The move, which will come into force from October 31 and is a legal requirement, will see more decisions made by planning officers, with applications only sent to Kirklees Council’s strategic planning committee or district-wide planning committee if certain conditions are met.
It comes under the National Scheme of Delegation as part of the Labour government’s wider programme of planning reform.
At the corporate governance and audit committee meeting, Coun Kath Pinnock (Cleckheaton, Lib Dems) said that while the council has to “accept that the law is the law”, it needed to make the best of the situation and shape the policy as best it can.
She proposed amendments designed to give a broader scope to the type of applications that could potentially be considered for a committee decision, and this was unanimously supported by members of the committee.
Elsewhere, a new electric vehicle charging scheme was given the green light.
The 12-month pilot scheme designed to help households without driveways charge their electric vehicles is expected to start towards the end of the year.
It will see cross-pavement charging channels installed. These are shallow gullies built into the pavement to allow cables to run beneath the surface, eliminating potential trip hazards.
West Yorkshire Combined Authority secured £1.5m from the Department for Transport to support the installation of these channels across the region.
The council says it expects to receive up to £330,000 which will subsidise the cost of installation and “significantly reduce” the amount residents would need to pay.
In another key decision this month, the council has agreed to offload more assets in a bid to bring in £4m in the current financial year.
The local authority is grappling with a £13.6m overspend in 2026/27, with the acceleration of asset sales one of the measures being taken to address the financial difficulties.
Earlier this month 13 assets were identified as those the council was looking to either sell off or do a freehold reversion – where the council’s freehold interests are sold to a business that occupies the land.
Cabinet gave officers permission to progress the disposals, though the meeting’s report did state that “further investigations” and considerations could see the latest assets no longer regarded as surplus and therefore retained.
Among the listed properties were car parks, two properties in Huddersfield town centre and around 5.2 acres of land at Scarr End Lane in Dewsbury.