Fight begins to stop new homes being built on Calderdale field

Those objecting to the council-owned site in Todmorden being allocated for housing in the plan, which will determine where thousands of homes will be built in the borough over the next 15 years, argued its value to the community was too great.

Planning Inspector Katie Child, who will determine after the hearings whether the plan is considered sound and should be implemented, said 16 homes were planned on the site off Woodlands Avenue which was “clearly well-loved and much-valued by the community.”

Heidi Wilson, for Calderdale Council, said there were three key reasons why the site had been put in the draft plan – there were limited viable spaces in Todmorden, it was the only council-owned site and, as such, it was potentially capable of providing affordable homes, possibly through the council’s partnership with Together Housing.

Ms Child said an alternate adjacent site had been put forward by the council to replace some of the leisure facilities on Denis’s Field and asked why homes could not be developed there.

Ms Wilson said Denis’s Field provided better access.

Matt Ludlam, for the Friends of Denis’s Field Group, said the site was a historic amenity and green public resource which was well used by the community, and never more so than during the coronavirus pandemic.

He said it had been put into the plan late in the day, otherwise special status would have been sought, adding: “We didn’t realise it was under threat.”

With its open space, growing area and play area, he said the site catered for all the community – young people, dog walkers, families for picnics and an active growing group – with the uneven alternative area being unsuitable for such use.

“It would be limited – the major loss would be its natural and semi-natural status, that is impossible to replace. It is problematic on a number of levels,” he said.

Coun Andy Hollis, for Todmorden Town Council, said retaining the site for the community to use was “essential”. He described it has being easy to access for families to keep an eye on children using the playground, and a valuable green space for the community.

Todmorden suffers from flooding such as that seen when the town was hit badly by Storm Ciara at the start of the year and the field was waterlogged, he said.

Those using Denis’s Field for activities included several local schools, added Coun Hollis.

Mr Ludlam said a group tended the growing areas and its 35 mature trees, including apple trees.

Coun Hollis also argued against the inclusion of another site in the plan, for up to 52 homes at nearby land off The Hollins and Stansfield Hall Road, Todmorden, citing its topography.

Nick Willock, representing Fieldsend and Church-Taylor, said it was accepted that density might be too high and 30 homes would be more appropriate.