Thornhill Lees developer to be asked for more money

Planning and development consultants Blackmores want to build 87 houses on the land off Lock Street in Thornhill Lees.

The 2.5 hectare site is currently occupied by a series of industrial buildings, including a scrap yard and a transport yard, which will be demolished.

A disused railway embankment will also be removed.

When Kirklees Council’s Heavy Woollen planning committee met on April 24 it heard the developer had offered to contribute £46,000 to community schemes.

But Coun Paul Kane (Lab. Dews East) said: “There are similar applications in that area that are giving a lot more than this.”

Coun Salim Patel (Con, Dews South) said demand for housing in that area was very high so the properties to be built would be sold easily.

There were originally going to be 106 homes, but the total was reduced to 87.

The dwellings proposed are a mix of terrace, semi-detached, and detached properties, with three or four bedrooms, of two and three storeys in height.

The existing businesses have short term leases soon to expire or have found alternative locations.

Kirklees Council received four letters of objection to the proposals.

Councillors asked officers to continue negotiating on the contribution to be made.