A COMMUNITY orchard set up on neglected land in Highfields could be dug up – to make way for housing.

Friends of Highfields Orchard began caring for the site on Wentworth Street three years ago.

And they have since transformed it into a valuable community resource.

At the time they were given temporary planning permission by Kirklees Council but the council has now submitted an outline application for five houses on the site.

Chairman of the Friends group, Tom Taylor, said: “It started as a bit of guerrilla gardening. But since then we’ve had May Day celebrations and carol singing and it became a really nice space and people planted more fruit trees.

“All along the council have been saying they are going to use it for housing.

“They didn’t help us with setting up the orchard but they did agree that we could use the land on a temporary basis.

“We just hoped they would realise that the orchard is of a benefit to the community.”

The plans have been submitted by Kirklees Council Physical Resources and Procurement to build the houses on the land on Wentworth Street.

The site is situated in Greenhead Conservation Area but has not appeared as allocated land in the council’s development plans.

Mr Taylor added: “There is a real value in communities like ours managing a little green space, growing food and working together.

“With budgets being tight, this is just the kind of thing the council should be encouraging communities to do.

“We’ve become attached to the community orchard. Trees and bushes have been planted and the community take care of it.

“It’s where we have met our neighbours, worked together to make something happen and we want to keep it.”

He urged those who supported the orchard to write to object to the application by May 4.

A Kirklees Council spokesman said: “The land which is currently being used by the Friends of Highfields Community Orchard (FHCO) was formerly a playground, held on a lease from the council, for a former private school which was situated on Mountjoy Road and closed in 2008.

“The FHCO orchard group were granted a licence to use the land for a temporary period but this was on the understanding that they knew it was likely to be used for development in the future, subject to planning permission being granted.”

The application is scheduled to go before Kirklees Council’s planning committee next month.