What is happening with Hipperholme Crosslee site: Contentious plans for 172 homes and new care home in Calderdale village to be decided next week
Planning councillors are set to consider controversial proposals to build 172 homes and a new 72-bed care home on a major former factory site in Calderdale village.
Officers are recommending councillors be mindful to permit – subject to legal agreement – Barratt Homes and Torsion Care’s revised scheme application to develop the former Crosslee factory site at Brighouse Road in Hipperholme.
The site once housed the Crosslee factory, producing millions of tumble driers.
Building on the site is contentious, with objectors arguing traffic generated by the number of new homes proposed for the 7.92 hectare site will put the key traffic-lighted crossroads at Hipperholme under severe strain.
One objector claims: “Hipperholme lights are often queued back considerably further than the entrance to Crosslee and a further 160 plus houses will make this a nightmare junction once again without adequate planning.”
However, the principle of development here was approved by councillors when an outline application was submitted two years ago.
More development is planned in the area, adding to the controversy.
Councillors, who will meet to determine the application at Halifax Town Hall from 2pm on Tuesday, October 1, are reminded by officers that early last year members were mindful to permit – subject to a recommended legal agreement yet to be fully resolved – Strata Homes’ proposals to build 176 homes on the former Southedge Quarry site opposite. The homes will also be accessed via Brighouse Road.
Other issues opponents of the Crosslee site plans raise include traffic impact at another access point at St Giles Road, described by one as “an absolute hazard”, and impact extra traffic might have on air quality.
There is some support from another respondent for the care home but not the housing.
Subject to some conditions, highways officers raise no objections to the proposals, and say a traffic assessment (TA) has modelled impact the development might have on key journey times along Denholme Gate Road, Leeds Road, Brighouse Road and Halifax Road – which all converge at Hipperholme junction.
“The maximum increase in journey time would be six seconds in the morning peak on the movement between both Denholme Gate Road and Brighouse Road and Brighouse Road and Leeds Road, and six seconds in the evening peak on the movement between Denholme Gate Road and Leeds Road.
“In terms of queue length, the TA determines that the maximum increase in queue length would be on Denholme Gate Road in the morning peak and on Leeds Road in the evening peak, but these queue length increases would be well within typical day to day variations in queuing at traffic signal junctions such as this.
“In effect, the TA concludes that the modest increase in journey time and queue times would not result in a residual cumulative impact on the road network that could be determined to be severe,” says the report to councillors.
The legal agreement would cover areas including 25 per cent of the homes being “affordable” and delivery of a pedestrian crossings on Brighouse Road, Wakefield Road and close to the junction with St Giles’ Road at a cost of £155,000.
A contribution of £242,589 towards off-site improvements to public open space in the area will also be sought via the legal agreement, if the plans are approved.