Plans for new homes in Halifax village can continue
Plans to build new homes in a Halifax village can continue following an approval by Calderdale Council’s Planning Committee.
A request for permission in principle to build between seven and nine homes on land next to the Golden Fleece Inn in Bradshaw has been approved by councillors.
Planning officers had previously recommended granting the permission in principle, but the application had been deferred from the last Planning Committee meeting on September 29 because of requests from members for more detail about a potential flooding risk if the homes were built.
Despite the site being located in a Critical Drainage Area, the Local Lead Flood Authority (LLFA) did not object to the application, and because the application was for permission in principle, a specific drainage plan is not expected at this stage.
Following the deferral at the previous Planning Committee meeting, the applicant carried out investigative work and submitted calculations into the feasibility of drainage methods and water discharge rates at the site.
In a report used during the meeting, it said that this does not remove the need for the applicant to ensure that the development would be safe for its lifetime, and that full drainage details and further investigative work would be required at the subsequent Technical Details Consent stage.
It is the Technical Details Consent application which has the effect of granting full planning permission.
Permission in principle applications only establish the fundamental principles of development, which include the location, land use and amount of development.
The report said that the fact that the detailed drainage design is yet to be established is not a reason to refuse the application “as it does not speak to the principle of development.”
During the meeting, an objection from Mayor of Calderdale Coun Andrew Tagg (Reform, Illingworth and Mixenden) was read out on his behalf, which argued that “a number of fundamental matters remain unresolved”, including the drainage and flood risk, grey belt and countryside impact, suitability of the location, highways and pedestrian safety, and infrastructure and sewage capacity.
After a vote, the permission in principle application was approved by the committee.