Housing plans have been submitted for a Huddersfield beauty spot at the heart of an 18-year battle that ended in the Supreme Court.

Prospect Estates Ltd want outline planning consent for a residential development at Clayton Fields in Edgerton.

It will see 41 detached houses built off Edgerton Road in an area much loved by the community, which had been registered as a village green.

Developers Paddico - a linked firm to the applicant - took their bid to remove the village green status to the Supreme Court and won the bid to build earlier this year.

Now a planning application has been submitted to Kirklees Council.

David Bowen, treasurer and secretary of the Clayton Fields Action Group, said the plan and indicative layout was the best compromise.

The Action Group has met with the applicant and says they were receptive to feedback.

Mr Bowen said: “We think it’s the best layout we could have expected, having lost Village Green status.

“And because Kirklees Council didn’t do a design brief for developers, we submitted one which has been passed to potential developers and the plan has ticked many of the boxes we identified.

“Although we lost the fight and had the wind taken out of our sails, we can see they’ve come up with a nice layout and it is in keeping with the area.

“But as Prospect Estates have indicated it’s unlikely they will do the development themselves, we have got to hope that there is no future deviation when a full application comes forward.”

There is one area they would like amended, which relates to a footpath along the dyke at the bottom of the fields.

They feel a wider area should be included.

Mr Bowen explained: “We are having an AGM to discuss our view on this.

“Some members feel the area around the dyke is not wide enough, and certainly if the stream level rises it could prevent children using the footpath to walk to the nearby school.

“This is the only issue now and we’ll discuss our response to it.”

In a statement the applicant says: “The site is currently unused and if left undeveloped could become a nuisance site, attracting vandals, drug users, groups of youths etc resulting in vandalism, litter and other problems for the local area - an undesirable part of an otherwise pleasant residential area.”

The plan is open to public comments at Kirklees Council until November 10.