Chaos at town hall as Local Plan is passed

A WEST Yorkshire council has approved its controversial Local Plan during a bruising meeting that descended into chaos.

There was pandemonium in Huddersfield Town Hall as the “extraordinary” Kirklees council meeting was cut short with more than an hour still to go.

And as rival groups clashed over whether members should be allowed to speak on planning issues affecting their wards there were accusations that they had been prevented from speaking and effectively gagged.

Speaking after the meeting on Wednesday, Conservative group leader David Hall described events as “the most appalling abuse of power I have seen on this council in 15 years.”

Liberal Democrat group pleader John Lawson said the decision to close down debate would “shatter public confidence in our decision-making process”.

An order from the government, the Local Plan includes 31,000 homes, many of which will have to be built within the green belt, as there is insufficient nongreen belt land in the borough.

There was little doubt that it would be adopted given the ruling Labour group’s majority.

Recommending the proposed plan for adoption, Labour councillor Peter McBride said it was the culmination of a ten-year “epic journey”.

He said: “Within the council we toiled with the conflict of, on the one hand, the need for a substantial number of houses and on the other an inevitable loss of green belt.”