Plans for £12m link road come under fire
Calderdale Council’s proposals for a £12.2 million “key” link road and using compulsory purchase powers to build it have come under fire.
Last month, Calderdale Council cabinet approved “in principle” using compulsory purchase powers to secure land which would become a link road for a proposed new business park at Clifton, Brighouse.
The placing of the road puzzled some scrutiny councillors, who said a map had not been provided to the decision-making senior councillors, and queried where exactly it would be.
Coun Steven Leigh (Con, Ryburn) said the proposals were of massive importance. If councillors did not know exactly where it would go, that brought costs into question.
“Do we really want to push through massive legislation, which this is part of, without knowing where it goes, what it’s going to cost, where it starts?” said Coun Leigh.
The link road is also described as a key part of supporting infrastructure for a proposed garden community at nearby Thornhills.
Coun Helen Brundell (Lab, Todmorden) said an overarching point was the council was often criticised for not thinking about infrastructure for new developments.
“I think here we have something which is putting that mechanism in place. Other areas are building industrial estates and we need to make sure we have the viability here to do the same,” she said.
The council’s director of regeneration and strategy, Shelagh O’Neill, agreed a map would have been helpful but the route was known – it would meet the A643 at America Lane and join the A644 just east of Locksley Road.