Homes plan unveiled for site after 15-year wait

A full planning application for the site, once earmarked for a Tesco supermarket, has just been submitted to Kirklees Council.

Seddon Homes Ltd can be revealed as the builder behind the site for 56 homes.

But a planning statement says: “Although the outline planning permission included the provision of a care home, there is no requirement as part of this permission for this to be delivered. This has been confirmed through pre-application discussions with Kirklees Council...”

Instead it will see 56 new homes – six of them will be two-bedroom and classed as affordable – built on the site off New Mill Road.

The statement says: “The ‘reserved matters’ proposals are bringing forward the residential element of the proposal only. This has resulted in a more spacious layout for the housing whilst maintaining the approved site access...

“There will be a range of houses delivered on the site from two-bedroom apartments to larger four-bedroom detached houses. Six affordable units will also be delivered.”

The site has long been controversial since Tesco made a bid to build a store on the site after the garage closed down in 2003.

Tesco’s interest was first revealed in 2008, sparking a determined campaign to keep the retail giant out of the town.

The plan was shelved the following year but returned in 2011.

Councillors rejected the scheme on the grounds that the area could not cope with the traffic.

An appeal and public inquiry in the summer of 2013 ended with the planning inspector rejecting the plan in September that year.

Earlier this year Holme Valley South Conservative Clr Ken Sims raised concerns that the site contained dangerous toxic waste, something rebutted by the landowner.