RESIDENTS fear their homes could be flooded and their roads gridlocked if plans for 230 new houses go ahead.

The village of Hopton, near Mirfield, has already seen more than 100 new houses built off Waste Lane.

In addition, a new waste transfer site is to be built on Station Road and permission has been granted for a small housing development in Newgate, Lower Hopton.

Kirklees-based Clough House Developments applied 18 months ago to build 300 homes on land at Woodend Road. The area is a floodplain.

A flood assessment by the Environment Agency has recommended the construction of 230 houses on the site, currently occupied by Patterson's haulage company and Butt End Mills.

Mrs Joan Chester, of Calder Road, Lower Hopton, who has lived in the area 34 years, said: "The road is lower than the river and as soon as it rains heavily it floods the road under the railway bridge. The river is at the back of our garden. It rises 17ft in a matter of hours."

Lower Hopton has two access roads to Mirfield - Newgate and Station Road. At peak commuter times, traffic already queues back into Lower Hopton from Newgate.

And residents fear another 230 homes will create an additional 460 cars.

The proposed access road to the development is under a railway bridge which floods regularly. An emergency alternative route would take traffic across the front of Hopton Junior, Infant and Nursery School.

Mrs Chester said: "They are talking about creating a roundabout on the children's play area and moving the play area to beside the railway line. The school is already full. People already living here cannot get their children in.

"I queue about 25 minutes at Newgate already, to reach Huddersfield Road on a morning."

Clr Martyn Bolt, who co-hosted a public meeting at Hopton United Reformed Church, said: "The primary access road is susceptible to flooding. Residents are horrified that the emergency access is a narrow track in front of the school.

"The new houses may be safe from flooding but if they are built, residents in houses further down may wake up to a water feature in their garden."

Residents are urged to attend a planning meeting at Dewsbury Town Hall on August 14 when members of Kirklees Council will make a decision. The meeting is due to start at 9.30am but councillors are expected to arrive later, after site visits.

No-one was available to comment from Clough House Developments.