Warehouse impact claim rejected
HIGHWAYS CHIEFS DISPUTE ASSERTION THAT HGV NUMBERS ARE UNDERESTIMATED
HIGHWAYS chiefs have refused to accept a specialist report that says traffic levels from HGV movements at a massive warehouse project have been underestimated.
It is a new blow for those fighting plans for what is believed will be an Amazon distribution centre close to junction 26 of the M62 near Cleckheaton.
The report, crowd-funded and commissioned by action group Save Our Spen, was sent to National Highways, the government-owned company responsible for maintaining motorways and ‘A’ roads in England.
However an official said: “National Highways does not intend to review this as part of our transport evidence; we take this from the transport assessment documentation provided to us by the council on behalf of the applicant.”
That resulted in a formal complaint from Save Our Spen members who said they were “stunned” by the response.
Plans for the facility, earmarked for 59 acres of farmland at Scholes between Whitehall Road, Whitechapel Road and the motorway, have been contentious since they were revealed in June.
The building has been described by critics as equivalent in height to an eight-storey tower block and the length of three full-size football pitches.
Among their concerns campaigners say local roads and the Chain Bar junction of the M62 will be swamped by traffic as between six and ten HGVs could go in or out of the site every minute.
Those fears have been underlined by the independent assessment, which Save Our Spen said laid bare “inconsistencies and false claims” in an alternative traffic report provided to the council by the applicant.
The residents’ report points to the applicant’s assessment as using traffic modelling that they consider to be “massively understated” and which is based on an incorrect number of HGV loading bays on the site.
A spokesman for Save Our Spen said: “It is inconceivable that National Highways can be so dismissive.
“Kirklees Council have been provided with the report and we expect Kirklees Council to now act on this information and insist that the applicants provide a factual and accurate traffic assessment.
“The more you dig deep into the planning application, the more it seems to unravel at the seams.”