A new road junction will provide a safer way for forestry vehicles to enter woodland near Todmorden, if planners agree.

Mr Aran Chadwick has applied for permission to create the new junction at land near Burnley Road in Cornholme.

Calderdale Council planners are told the new access point, between Burnley Road and Carr Road, will solve long-standing problems and in particular in the short term will deal with increased activity to deal with a diseased trees issue.

A supporting statement with the application – number 24/00693/FUL, and which can be viewed on the council’s Planning Portal – compiled by JS Planning Consultants says the new access point is required to provide safe means of access to and from Carr Road for vehicles in connection with established forestry activities within Bearnshaw Tower Forest – a privately owned woodland.

The application has been prompted following the issue of a notice by the Forestry Commission requiring the removal of larch trees from the woodland as a disease prevention measure, says the statement.

“Vehicular movements generated by the forestry use are generally low in frequency.

“However, the forestry use naturally requires large vehicles for the removal of timber.

“Access for this purpose has been taken via Carr Road for over 40 years, with the private forestry access then extending off Carr Road.”

But, the application goes on to say: “The existing junction layout between Carr Road and Burnley Road is at an acute angle.

“Whilst it is technically possible for a forestry vehicle to access Carr Road from Burnley Road (and indeed, access has been taken in this way for over 40 years), it requires an unsafe manoeuvre that is detrimental to both highways efficiency and safety.”

It is important for highway safety purposes that a suitable junction arrangement is provided to allow the HGV movements essential for the larch removal, which is a legal requirement, say the papers.

This task will only generate movements over a two to three month period with a maximum of six trips on any given day, which will be followed up by further felling and timber removal at three and eight-year intervals, with the same cycle then repeated in 30 to 40 years, says the statement.

“As such, the frequency of the use of the new junction arrangement will be low and occasional, but the project will offer a permanent solution to a long-term problem,” it argues.