INVESTMENT FORMS PART OF £30M SCHEME TO DRIVE JOBS AND BOOST ECONOMY

Improvements are also sought for the A62 road junction at Cooper Bridge, with construction work focusing on the A644 Wakefield Road towards Brighouse.

Calderdale Council’s Cabinet Member for Regeneration and Economic Development, Clr Barry Collins, said the close proximity of the M62 to south-east Calderdale “means it is ideally located for sustained development.”

He added that the combination of the schemes “will ultimately bring significant economic benefits to Calderdale”, not least hundreds of new jobs.

Residents living near the proposed business park say they have written to the Department for Transport (DfT) outlining their concerns.

Members of Clifton Area Forum say the council’s plan is flawed, unrealistic and impractical.

They say that no commercial builder has come forward during the 10-year period that the land has been earmarked for development.

And they claim the steeply sloping land will limit the size of units on the park and highlight the 1 in 10 gradient of nearby access roads. In addition, they have criticised the council for its lack of clarity over nearby homes that could face demolition as part of the plan.

Commenting on its website, the Forum said: “Calderdale should not purchase this land. It will become a white elephant, and is unlikely to be developed as a business park due to its physical constraints.”

A spokesman for Clifton Forum said: “We are not an objection group. We accept that there will be some development in the area but it has to be sustainable, proportionate and deliverable.”

Clr Collins added: “All phases of our A629 project aim to improve journey times, boost Calderdale’s economy and create new job opportunities, by improving connectivity between Halifax and Huddersfield.

“We are at the very early stages of looking at the final phase – Phase 4 – which includes proposals to address congestion around Ainley Top.

“We’ve identified Ainley Top as an area that could potentially benefit from improvements for all modes of travel. We’re really pleased we’ve secured funding from the West Yorkshire Combined Authority to carry out a feasibility study for this. Only when the study is complete will we have details of potential schemes.

“At that point we would be able to start local consultation and gain more understanding of the possible impacts and outcomes.”