A huge area of woodland has been cleared to allow 44-year-old housing plans to get going.
The Examiner revealed last February that a 312-home planning application in Linthwaite granted in 1973, but never built, had been revived out of the blue.
The go ahead was given by Colne Valley District Council just a few months before it was scrapped and Kirklees Council took over.
The long forgotten plans for land off Royd House Lane near the Sair Inn pub are now in full swing, with much of the 44 acre plot cleared.
The work could begin because while nothing significant happened for more than 25 years, in the year 2000, Kirklees Council planning officials certified that enough work had been done to keep the plan valid.
Then in 2014, a 12-year-long legal battle about ownership of the land was finally resolved.
Workers for Endless Developments were first spotted on the site in February and the firm confirmed last May it was intending to deliver the full 312 home plan almost exactly as it was designed in the 1970s.
The estate will be entirely formed of three-bed terraces, with two different layouts available.
Some minor changes to the windows and facias of the houses have been agreed with Kirklees planners.
Thirteen will be built initially if Kirklees Council adopts a new access road into the site.
The huge clearance scheme on steep banking can be seen for miles across the Colne Valley, sparking mixed opinions on social media.
One person in a Linthwaite Facebook group, said: “I lived here 62 years and remember how beautiful it was...I realise fields have been built on in those years but we have passed saturation point in Huddersfield and, as a result, the infrastructure cannot cope. Enough is enough, in my opinion.”
Said another: “It’s sad to see open space being built on but if it brings more people in from other areas it will boost the local economy. All these people will buy shopping and use local tradesmen and services.”
But one backed the development, saying: “As a younger person, who doesn’t own a hugely inflated house, more houses are to be welcomed.
“I understand it’s different for those who have their own house but younger generations need to have somewhere to live.”
