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Fury over beauty spot damage
By Suzanne Rutter
ANGRY residents say developers have wrecked a beauty spot.
Twenty apartments and 20 houses, starting at 160,000, are being built by Britannia Developments at the former British Furtex factory, Burnley Road, Luddenden Foot.
But residents say the development is causing irreversible damage to local wildlife and the environment and Britannia has not considered the effect more homes will have on traffic and local amenities.
Howard Swindells, of nearby Grove Crescent, organised a public meeting at the Kershaw Day Centre, which was attended by more than 50 people.
He said: “We want the council to listen to residents for once rather than developers.”
“At first Britannia wanted to build on the site of the old mill. They then decided to build further but that was rejected by Calderdale Council. In the meantime they have already filled an old dam, which is still full of chemicals, with earth.
“Those chemicals could still cause environmental damage if they leak into the new houses or the river.
“Another important issue is what will happen now our natural flood defence system has gone. We had massive floods in 1989 which demolished part of the British Furtex Mill. At the time we received possible evacuation notices and these buildings are being built lower than ours”.
Joyce Swindells also said: “Luddenden Foot used to be a beautiful place. But not any more. The damage is irreversible. We wonder where the extra children will go to school or play and we are all angry and upset about the situation.”
Alethea Lawton, of Luddenden Lane, said: “The traffic is going to be a nightmare, especially at night time and in the morning.
“Trees which have been here for hundreds of years have been felled - they are completely irreplaceable. We have deer, kingfishers, herons, squirrels, bats and owls living in the existing woodland. But if Britannia continues to build further the animals will be forced into farmland and private properties.”
Miss Lawton’s mother, Diane Beaumont, of Long Lane, Wheatley, Halifax, owns her daughter’s house. She said: “I think it’s disgusting that people are buying houses with beautiful views to see them destroyed.”
Trevor Binns, of Grove Crescent, said: “I don’t want to look out of my window after 37 years and see houses rather than the beautiful scenery I have now.”
Anthony Rae, co-ordinator of Calderdale Friends of the Earth said: “Calderdale has already met its housing building target up to the year 2016. The council must take every step to protect this site and to respond to the relentless pressure by housing developers who are just trying to extract profit.”
A Calderdale Council spokesman said: “We’ve met residents about their concerns and have spoken to the builders requesting information about work they are carrying out before we decide what future course of action should be taken.”
A spokesman for Britannia said the mill site covered about eight acres and development had been restricted to 1.4 acres, so the vast majority of the site would remain untouched.
“The mill pond is silted-up and contains contaminated materials and the pond has been a source of danger for many years with children being regularly pulled from the sludge. In consultation with the council, we have capped the area to remove the potential danger to the public.
“A comprehensive environmental survey was also undertaken and submitted to the council before this work was implemented.
“The junction improvement is now to be dealt with under a Highway Agreement.”
Another meeting is plan-ned for July 14 at 7pm at Kershaw Day Centre.
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Friday 10 February 2012
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