Every resident in Kirklees is set to be affected by a new 15-year planning blueprint which could see as many as 35,000 new homes built across the district.
The proposed new Local Plan could change the face of Kirklees – and spark protests in the battle to save green fields.
And, it is feared, last week’s controversial decision to allow 190 homes to be built in picturesque Grimescar Valley could be just the tip of a very large iceberg.
Councillors will soon be briefed on sites that could be developed in years to come as the council urgently needs to create a Local Plan – a policy that will set out what it will and won’t permit in planning.
It will include site options for development, something that has long been controversial since the ill-fated Local Development Framework – the council’s last attempt at a policy plan – was axed nearly two years ago amid much controversy.
Colne Valley Tory MP Jason McCartney said: “Having sat through the Grimescar Valley meeting I don’t have any confidence how planning works at Kirklees Council.
“It’s clear that the current leadership of the council are not listening and just want to bulldoze through thousands of homes. It’s completely the wrong approach.
“Our countryside is special and our topography and our Local Plan needs to reflect that. I do question that level of housing.
“Where will it end? There will be demands for another 35,000 houses. It’s madness, it’s the wrong approach.
“I just don’t see the huge demand for housing in this area. I don’t have people knocking on my door talking about it. Do we really want to allow developers to destroy our countryside as we saw at Grimescar Valley?
“We need to be a lot more creative and work much more closely with neighbouring authorities such as Leeds and Wakefield.”
Councillors were set to be briefed at the end of July but the briefing has been delayed, much to the anger of the Conservative leader, Clr Robert Light.
He said: “We arranged a meeting at short notice following a request from officers to discuss detailed plans which have been developed to shape the Local Plan.
“The Local Plan affects all Kirklees residents and all 23 wards, and it is of vital importance that the Labour administration’s proposals are considered by all councillors and put out for public consultation as soon as possible.
“The longer Kirklees goes without an acceptable Local Plan the more vulnerable we become to developers.”
Asked how concerned residents should be about the changes, he said: “Until we see the detail it is impossible to tell but it’s not just lines on a map, it does impact on every resident. “This process is about land allocation for 15 years plus across the whole borough.
“I’m expecting all areas to be affected in some way. We certainly need some clear leadership.”
Read more: Campaigners 'disgusted' as councillors approve plan for 190 homes in Grimescar Valley
A council spokesman said: “Officers are in the process of presenting their technical assessment of the development options submitted for consideration under the Local Plan process to all political groups over the next few weeks.
“It was originally hoped that this process would be completed by the end of July but the number of options submitted has meant that this will now be slightly delayed.
“At the time of the meeting with the Conservative Group on July 27 the detailed assessment of sites had not been shared with any of the political groups.
“The intention is to recommend a draft set of development options to Cabinet in the autumn which, if approved, will then be the focus of public and stakeholder consultation during late 2015.
“It is a key requirement of the preparation for the Cabinet meeting that we consult with all political groups in a broadly similar time frame.”
Earlier this year the Examiner reported that the Local Plan would need to allocate land for up to 35,000 new homes, 7,500 of them will be on new allocations of Provisional Open Land (POL) which is land that could be developed in the future should the need arise.
There is current public opposition to POL sites in Lindley, Skelmanthorpe and Cleckheaton, allocated in 1999, now being developed due to the delayed Local Plan.
