Fresh bid for new homes in former Calderdale pub car park

An application has been submitted to build four homes on the former Woodman Inn car park on Halifax Road between Hebden Bridge and Todmorden.

Calderdale Council refused plans for five homes on the site in April 2023.

But the applicant claims the Labour government’s grey belt reforms have opened the door to a new scheme.

The refused proposal included demolishing and replacing the pub with three detached houses and building a pair of semi-detached properties on the car park.

The refusal was appealed but dismissed by a planning inspector in February 2024, who concluded the proposal would “cause harm to the openness of the green belt and would be inappropriate development”.

But Labour’s new National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) introduced the concept of grey belt land, which can be suitable for development where it does not strongly contribute to key green belt purposes.

A planning statement for the latest application states: “The Government’s introduction of grey belt policy now provides the opportunity to develop this brownfield former pub car park site.”

The developer argues the land is previously developed brownfield land, does not strongly contribute to preventing urban sprawl, would not lead to settlements merging, and does not preserve the setting of a historic town.

They also point to Calderdale Council’s housing requirement, arguing the authority can demonstrate only 3.89 years of housing supply.

The statement concludes: “The site is judged to fall within the NPPF glossary definition of ‘grey belt’,” adding that there is “an evidenced unmet need for housing” and that “the sustainability of the site is considered to be good”.

Calderdale council’s acknowledgement of the new application confirms it “does not accord” with the Local Plan that is already in place.