Makeover for ‘eyesore’
AN “eyesore” parcel of land at Birstall will be given a makeover and transformed into a new retail park following approval by planners at Kirklees Council.
The eight acre (3.2 hectare) site, on Gelderd Road/ Bankwood Way, will accommodate eight retail units and could provide up to 300 jobs.
The seven-strong panel on the council’s strategic planning committee unanimously agreed to pass planning officers’ recommendations for the site, which one member described as “an eyesore.”
Colne Valley Tory councillor Donna Bellamy added that the scheme was “an opportunity to get something done” with the land.
Public objections included concerns over extra traffic in the area. There was also an objection from the Princess of Wales precinct in Dewsbury, which said rival retailing could impact on Dewsbury town centre.
Two contentious projects in Heckmondwike were deferred pending further information.
A proposal to build more than 70 homes on a former railway cutting at Walkley Terrace and Brunswick Street attracted a slew of objections from local residents, several of whom spoke out at the meeting in Huddersfield Town Hall.
Councillors deferred the application pending more information.
Criticism of the plan included concerns over air quality, excess traffic and the impact of noisy building work on nearby homes.
However the officers’ report was slammed as “irresponsible and unsafe” with residents warning that the local road network was at “breaking point.”
The area was also described as “a green haven in an urban sprawl” that was packed with wildlife and acted as “the lungs of Heckmondwike”.
Also deferred was a planned drive-thru restaurant earmarked for a former car park for Flush Mills near Westgate, Heckmondwike.
Officers recommended the plan for refusal as the site has been allocated for housing in the council’s Local Plan.
Councillors said they preferred to receive more information on the outline application rather than refuse it outright.
A scheme to build housing on land at Lancaster Lane in Brockholes, Holmfirth, led to sharp exchange between councillors and officers, with Clr Paul Kane urging planning staff to support members.
He warned that the developer was not building affordable homes and that councillors were being “taken for mugs. Officers have fallen into the same trap.”
Clr Bellamy said the development was overintensive and the proposed homes “too large”, with five-bed houses undermining the notion of affordable homes in the area.
A 4-2 vote passed the plan, with two councillors voting for refusal and one abstaining.
Two other applications, for two semi-detached dwellings at Green Gardens in Golcar, and extensions to a property at Whitehall Road in Wyke, were both approved. 2 Nights Half Board stay at The Elgin Hotel ‘Bubbly’ reception Friday Stall ticket & transport to and from the Opera House to see Jane McDonald in concert Friday Night Fantastic Elvis Entertainment and Illusion show in the Hotel on Saturday Night