House-building boom: What you need to know about Calderdale's Local Plan and how it could change the look of the district for ever

Fighting to protect open spaces. Brian Crossley, left, with fellow campaigners have been battling to conserve countryside sites in Shelf and Northowram that could be carved up for future development as part of Calderdale's controversial Local Plan

Controversial, particularly in parts of south east Calderdale including Brighouse – where two large scale Garden Suburbs are proposed – Greetland, Northowram and Shelf, where much of the housing might go, a Planning Inspector says she finds it can be legally compliant and sound – although only if main modifications she has recommended are incorporated into it.

Their concerns ranged from infrastructure such as roads, schools and GP surgeries, to impact emissions from large numbers of new homes and extra traffic generated might bring have on air quality and health.

The Local Plan also sets out where new industry might be developed.

Green fields carve up: Land to the north and north west of Wade House Road, Shelf, will, in combination with land at Cock Hill Lane, form a large site on the north side of the village - both sites CAN be removed from the green belt as part of the Calderdale Local Plan but will require detailed master planning before homes are built, says the inspector

Planning Inspector Katie Child was appointed by the Secretary of State for the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities to examine the draft Local Plan and has overseen four stages of hearings over four years.

These have seen planners, developers, technical specialists, campaign groups, residents’ groups and individuals, and councillors taking part in examination sessions.

Ms Child’s final report, which can now be viewed on the council’s website, concludes that overall the plan has a number of deficiencies in respect of soundness and legal compliance, and as such she could not recommend the adoption of it as submitted.

These deficiencies have been explained in the main issues set out in her report.

But the council has requested she recommends main modifications to make the Local Plan sound and legally compliant and capable of adoption under the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004.

Accordingly, says Ms Child: “With the recommended main modifications set out, the Calderdale Local Plan satisfies the requirements referred to in Section 20(5)(a) of the 2004 Act and is sound.”

In summary, the main modifications she has suggested include increasing Calderdale’s housing requirement from 840 to 997 homes per year under the plan, which is likely to run for ten years with a review after five.

The council needs to include a policy to clarify its approach to developer contributions to schemes, needs to amend its policy to allow “rural exception” housing within village or small settlement sites, and needs to fully identify the need for gypsy and traveller accommodation – including identifying specific sites.

Cock Hill Lane, Shelf, needs some mitigation - but ultimately there are exceptional circumstances to justify release of the site from the green belt, says the inspector

It also needs to add additional housing sites in response to the modified requirement numbers, and to delete a number of housing and mixed use sites due to the constraints or other issues the Inspector has identified.

Deletions include sites at Bowling Green Road, Stainland; Scar Bottom Lane, Greetland; Daisy Bank, Savile Park, Halifax; Balkram Road, Mixenden, Halifax; Upper Bentley Royd, Sowerby Bridge; land in front of Bardnor House, Todmorden; land off Woodlands Avenue, Todmorden – known as Denis’s Field – and land at Northgate House, Halifax.

Also potential waste sites at Swalesmoor Farm, Ploughcroft, Boothtown, Halifax; Stainland Road, Salterhebble, Halifax, and Wakefield Road, Brighouse, need to be deleted – although a new waste site at Atlas Mill Road, Brighouse, needs to be identified, says the Inspector.

Various changes need to be made to site area, capacities, mix and type of uses and other criteria on a range of sites – set out in appendices to the Inspector’s report.

Garden suburbs: Thousands of new homes could be built in Brighouse and Rastrick as part of Calderdale's controversial Local Plan, including many around fields off Woodhouse Gardens to create a new 'garden suburbs'

Housing supply updates need to be made, as assumptions need to be realistic in terms of capacity and rates of delivery, some development management policies need revised wording and modifications made to ensure they are consistent with national policy.

Main issue by main issue, the Inspector concludes that in terms of the plan providing a soundly-based framework for development over an appropriate period of time, she concludes that subject to modification recommendations, the vision, strategic objectives and spatial development strategy and policies in the Plan provide a “positive and soundly based framework that will contribute to the delivery of sustainable development.”

In terms of identifying housing requirement, she concludes this needs to be increased to 14,950 over the (initial 15-year) life of the plan using some additional sites already identified by the council – 997 per year.

Not all of the council’s suggested additional sites should be utilised though – for example, the Inspector says a Gate Farm, Saddleworth Road, Greetland, site is not justified and is omitted from the main modifications list.

Where employment growth is concerned she concludes the plan sets out a development plan which is “justified, effective and consistent” with national policy.

Ms Child concludes exceptional circumstances do exist to justify release of green belt land for housing and employment, and also other proposed green belt changes.

Land off Woodhouse Gardens, Brighouse, where there's plans to build a massive new housing estate as part of the Local Plan

This includes land at the controversial Garden Suburb sites at Woodhouse and Thornhills, near Brighouse, where around 3,000 homes could be built.

She says the plan does set out a “robust and viable” framework for delivering growth and infrastructure, including using national current limits for air quality levels.

The Inspector says subject to modifications it does meet affordable housing and traveller accommodation needs.

The plan has “a positively prepared strategy and policies for retailing and town centres”, she says.

Ms Child says subject to some detailed modifications, the plan’s proposed housing, employment and mixed-use allocations are “justified, effective and consistent with national policy.”

The Inspector says overall the plan provides an “appropriate supply of deliverable and developable sites to meet identified housing needs.”

Subject to modifications, policies on addressing climate change, health and wellbeing, built and historic environment, green belt, the natural environment and environmental protection are “are justified, effective and consistent with national policy.”

Subject to suggested modifications and site-specific policies, the plan’s mineral allocations, and policies for waste, are justified, says Ms Child.

Cabinet will now consider her report and is expected to recommend to the full Calderdale Council that members adopt it for implementation.