Barn buildings which used to be a nursery could become six new Calderdale homes

Roy Crowther has applied to Calderdale Council wanting to make the changes at Greenslack, Smithwell Lane in Heptonstall.

Supporting statements with the application say the site is surrounded by a mix of homes and open fields.

But it consists of a number of buildings which were part of a former nursery operation on the site.

They include a large building used for storage, a static caravan and a number of polytunnels.

If permission is granted, these would be demolished and six new two-storey homes built within a courtyard setting, with the aim of building two detached homes and two pairs of semi-detached homes, say the papers.

Although planning policy regards new buildings as inappropriate development in a green belt setting, according to advice in the latest version of the National Planning Policy Framework, agents for the applicant argue the case would not be fresh development.

They say there is no doubt regarding the lawful status of the existing buildings, with aerial images showing them visible on the land for a period of well over four years.

The proposal therefore would be redevelopment of previously developed land, they argue.

Building the new homes would also benefit Heptonstall village economy, claim the supporting papers.

The application can be viewed, along with the supporting documents, on the planning portal on Calderdale Council’s website by searching for the application reference number 23/00570/FUL.