Thousands of new Kirklees homes approved since controversial Local Plan adopted

From the Holme Valley in the south to Dewsbury in the north, no part of the borough has remained untouched.

And with the pressure on to deliver 31,000 homes by 2031, planning committees are faced with meeting a government-set quota that means the authority must approve 1,730 homes every year to make the target.

A look back through committee agendas since the adoption of the massive development blueprint on February 27, 2019 shows 2,924 homes of various shapes and sizes have been green-lit.

The figure includes indicative numbers of homes earmarked for some sites as well as outline approval given to proposed huge estates where final sign-off is still to take place.

The biggest developments include:

260 homes at Owl Lane, Chidswell, Dewsbury

252 homes at Gernhill Avenue, Fixby

250 homes at Netherton Moor Road, Netherton

190 homes at Cumberworth Road, Skelmanthorpe

161 homes plus 50-unit extra care facility at Ashbrow Road, Ashbrow

110 homes at Cleckheaton mills, Cleckheaton

105 homes at Tithe House Way, Bradley

94 homes at Scotgate Road, Honley

67 homes at Granny Lane, Mirfield

On its adoption during a chaotic and bad-tempered debate senior Labour councillor Peter McBride described the Local Plan – which will use 200 sites across Kirklees – as “a complex, finely-crafted piece of work costing many millions” that would “guarantee the future of this borough for a generation”.

A year ago Coun McBride said the council was on track to build 10,000 new homes in the borough by 2023, though that figure may have been affected by the coronavirus pandemic.

The authority has committed to making at least 20% of the total number of homes affordable and to deliver extra care provision “throughout the borough”.

Among the land allocated for housing are 41 council-owned sites.

An order from the government, the Local Plan requires many homes to be built within the green belt as there is insufficient non-green belt land in the borough.

Inevitably it has prompted vigorous campaigning from some groups against large-scale developments in their areas, as well as some contentious decision-making by the council’s committees.

Some sites have been fought by local councillors who actually voted for the Local Plan. The argument from the Labour administration is that just because land is allocated for housing doesn’t mean a scheme will necessarily be approved. Each is considered on its merits.

A common concern is that imposing extra homes will overwhelm local amenities and supporting infrastructure such as schools, GP surgeries and dental practices.

Residents often highlight the impact of increased traffic on local roads or point to historical flooding that affects the area.

The first Local Plan scheme to get the go-ahead in March 2019 was for 250 homes on land at Gernhill Avenue in Fixby.

Local residents who objected to the scheme said it would cause “irreversible damage” to the area and criticised it as “a short-term, commercially-driven opportunity”.

A political row broke out over plans by Persimmon Homes to build 190 houses on fields off Cumberworth Road in Skelmanthorpe.

Labour councillors as well as the then Dewsbury MP Paula Sheriff spoke against the scheme leading Conservatives to accuse them of double standards.

The plan received more than 800 objections.

In Netherton residents said two sites off Netherton Moor Road will both destroy agricultural land and swamp already over-stretched local amenities.

The scheme was approved last May.

Last month Dewsbury MP Mark Eastwood described as “unacceptable” a plan to build 260 homes on almost 20 acres of farmland off Owl Lane at Chidswell.

The area is earmarked for 1,500 homes in total and is one of the biggest developments in North Kirklees.

It was approved despite concerns over the impact on local roads from extra houses and a lack of cash for supporting infrastructure, such as a new roundabout to access the estate.

Meanwhile the battle to stop a housing estate being built on an ancient watermeadow at Granny Lane in Mirfield goes on. Some campaigners were in tears when a planning committee approved the scheme in December 2019.

However they have vowed to fight to the bitter end to prevent houses being built where land and roads can be under several feet of water after heavy rain and the impact of the nearby River Calder bursting its banks.