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Local Development Framework
After the last meeting of residents at Birchencliffe Cricket Club, a
Steering group has formed to research the current position and to plan a course
of action for local people to discuss and amend or agree.
The first issue was to be clear about what we want to achieve and that
is simple:
There should be no further development on the greenbelt. Not at
Grimescar Valley or anywhere else.
The main priority for now is to ensure that the Grimescar Valley is not
developed further since it is one of a handful of areas across Kirklees that is
currently in the green belt but is threatened by a massive development proposed
by the local landowners, Thornhill Estates.
The Group has been undertaking research to establish what the current situation
is and what steps need to be taken to to ensure that the greenbelt is
protected.
First, the current land use plan for the whole of Kirklees, the Unitary
Development Plan (UDP), is coming to the end of its life.
A large strip of land running
from Junction 24 to junction 25 is owned by Thornhill estates (on both the
Kirklees and Calderdale sides of the motorway.
Virtually all of it is green belt land.
A parcel of land in Kirklees, lying south east of the Ainley Top
roundabout – suitable for about 300 houses – is currently earmarked in the UDP to
be considered for development when the UDP comes to an end. But it is still
part of the green belt and no permission has been given to build on it.
Changes in the way Government approaches land use planning – and how it
instructs Councils across the country to act – are changing and there is not
yet a settled position that can be referred to in order to know exactly what
will happen next at a national level.
Kirklees has decided that it is best to act now. They seem to think
that having an up to date plan of who can build what and where is a better way
of making sure that, when developers challenge their decisions (as they do and
will continue to do), it is sensible to have a new plan, which is called the
Local Development Framework (LDF). This means the UD will come to an end, and a
completely fresh approach can be taken to determine where development is
allowed.
As of 2 November, the Council's officers have been working to a set of
objectives that will, put simply, try to generate more employment within
Kirklees (to provide jobs for local people and to reduce the number of people
who commute outside of the area for work).
The Council's officers also know that the local population is rising so
they have to make more land available for house building.
It is, formally at least, the Council's officers who have identified
that the land at Ainley Top can be used for both employment purposes and house
building. In addition to the imagined 300 houses from the UDP, they now propose
to allow a further 200 houses to be built, making 500 in total. This would
require around 30 hectares of land.
Plus, the officers are proposing to set aside a further 5 hectares of
land to attract companies to relocate and create 750 local jobs.
At this stage, it is not at all clear exactly where the development
will take place and potentially could impact on any part of the green belt
running alongside the Motorway between J24 and 25. however, it is assumed that
the development will be as close to the Ainley Top roundabout as possible.
Thornhill Estates, as they allowed to do, have proposed that a total of
800 houses should be built. To mitigate the increased traffic the development
would create, Thornhill would improve the Halifax Road from the Cavalry Arms to
the Ainley Top roundabout and improve the roundabout itself. This would cause
major disruption and would not address the flow of traffic on the motorway
itself.
The Council will consider the officer's proposals on 23rd
November.
Before that, the Labour-controlled Cabinet will consider the proposals.
At this stage, their consideration is restricted largely to whether the
proposals should go forward for consideration by the full Council. It is
unlikely that the Cabinet will endorse the officers proposals.
The Cabinet has allowed members of the public to express their views on
the whole of the officer's proposals in the LDF (which proposes infringement of
the green belt in 5 or 6 other areas of Kirklees, all of which affect much more
larger areas than at Ainley Top.
Even though the Cabinet is likely to agree that the officer's proposals
should go forward for debate, it is important that our initial views should be
aired at the Cabinet.
Why ? Because we need to try to influence the deal that will have to be
struck in order for the Council to adopt the LDF. At this stage, it is still
possible to have the proposals to develop the Grimescar Valley thrown out
completely.
No one political party has a majority on the Council and every decision
requires either most Councillors to abstain or for two or more parties to agree
to co-operate and vote together on each issue.
The Labour Cabinet simply can not push the LDF through, and it doesn't
want to do so anyway. The Cabinet knows that it has to work out a 'deal' with
one or other, or both, of the two major parties, the Conservatives and/or the
Lib Dems.
We need to press arguments home at the Cabinet that make clear that the
Labour Party does not need to support the development of Grimescar Valley and
that is should seek to make a deal with one or both of the other Parties to
strike the proposal out.
This political horse trading will take place after the Cabinet. Each
Party will have until 16th November to produce its own set of amendments to the
officers proposals, which will then be considered by the full Council on 23rd
November.
Our aim should be to make sure that all three parties agree that the
officers proposals should be rejected.
Meetings are being set up now with the Leaders of the three main
parties so we can make our views known and we can engage them in positive,
constructive dialogue.
Speakers have volunteered to attend the Cabinet meeting to make our
views known, and anyone can put themselves forward to speak at the full Council
meeting on 23rd November. If you want to be one of these speakers,
let John Gilbert know as soon as possible, so we can co-ordinate the our input
(grimescar1jg@gmail.com).
To register as a speaker simply email adrian.johnson@kirklees.gov.uk as soon
as possible | 
