Halifax Civic Trust and Heritage England among objectors to 10-home plan in Northowram
A town’s Civic Trust and Heritage England are among the objectors to a 10-home plan for a Calderdale village, which comes before planners next week.
Halifax Civic Trust supports Calderdale Council’s adoption of the Local Plan, which will shape where thousands of new homes might be built into the 2030s – but claims developer Highstone’s proposal does not comply with the plan.
The company wants to build the bungalows at land to the north of the Grade II- listed Heywood United Reformed Church at Heywood Close, Northowram, Halifax, a site which is in the Northowram Village Conservation Area.
The application is being brought to Calderdale Council’s Planning Committee when it meets at Halifax Town Hall next Tuesday, August 20, due to both the number of objections and an objection from a statutory consultee.
The Trust believes the site forms an important part of the Conservation Area as “the last remaining undespoiled evidence of Northowram’s rural origin”.
It would also impact on the setting of the Grade II-listed Heywood Chapel, argues the Trust.
Historic England object on heritage grounds, particularly relating to the impacts on the Northowram Village Conservation Area, although they say any harm will be less than substantial.
These concerns are also shared by the council’s Conservation Officer.
However, planning officers say that when weighing this against the public benefit – bungalows are a type of home they say is a demonstrable need in Calderdale – the proposal meets the council’s planning policy objectives.
According to the report to councillors, two of the bungalows are classed as “affordable” and are earmarked as “assisted living” homes, a type which Calderdale needs.
Planning officers are recommending councillors approve the application, subject to a legal agreement which would secure two of the homes being “affordable” – the scale of development here would not normally require this.
The development is in accordance with the policies and proposals in the Calderdale Local Plan and National Planning Policy Framework and there are no material considerations to outweigh the presumption in favour of such development, say officers.
Issues also raised in 21 objections lodged with the council over the application include concerns about whether roads can cope with the extra traffic generated, worries about heavy construction traffic, the quality of access, impact on infrastructure such as schools and surgeries and the effect on wildlife and green space provision.
Highstone says the application seeks to address previous consultee concerns and has been designed specifically to respond to historic design and heritage comments.