Meetings over blueprint to build 9,970 homes in Calderdale to be held virtually

Inspector Katie Child presided over phase one of the hearings into the controversial proposals at Shelf Village Hall last summer.

But because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, when hearings resume at 10am on Tuesday, October 6, they will do so by Zoom call and can be watched via Calderdale Council’s YouTube channel.

This week people who have asked to participate in the hearings took part in a “test” Zoom event to check the system is working.

The Local Plan will identify sites where new homes and businesses might be built into the 2030s.

The council late last year submitted proposals for a ten, rather than 15, year format with new home numbers needed reviewed after ten years.

This would mean the council building 9,970 homes over a decade, when the position would be reassessed to see more accurately how many new homes, if any, might still be needed.

The proposals have been hugely controversial especially in southern parts of Calderdale where sites for many of the new homes have been identified, including two potential Garden Suburbs near Brighouse.

As well as Brighouse and Rastrick, residents in Greetland and Stainland and Northowram and Shelf have also vociferously opposed proposals and are expected to be among those taking part in the hearings, which are expected to consider some of the sites during the course of proceedings.

Calderdale Friends of the Earth representatives have also expressed concerns about the need for this number of homes.

On Tuesday, October 6, housing needs coupled with employment growth forecasts are on the agenda, while the first week of the hearings will also see air quality, carbon emissions and infrastructure needs (both on Wednesday, October 7) and transport, masterplanning and viability (on Friday, October 9) being discussed.

All local authorties are compelled by the Government to produce a Local Plan, which the Inspector, acting on behalf of the Secretary of State, has to approve.

Earlier this year the council’s Cabinet member for Regeneration and Strategy, Coun Jane Scullion (Lab, Luddenden Foot), said she expected issues about economic growth and housing need would be “full and rigorous”.

She also said the pandemic meant a lot of policies would have to be examined, but one effect of the pandemic was people placing more value on the sort of green areas and views Calderdale had to offer, making it more popular as a place to live.

Through the summer latest papers and reports relating to the Local Plan have been published on Calderdale Council’s website (https://www.calderdale.gov.uk/v2/residents/environment-planning-and-building/planning/planning-policy/local-plan) where they can be accessed and read.