A DRIVE by the Government for thousands more homes to be built in Huddersfield will place huge pressure on schools, roads and health facilities, campaigners fear.
Objectors have spoken out after Kirklees Council was ordered to find space for 20,000 new homes across the district by 2016.
It's a demand which has dismayed many.
Clr John Smithson, council Cabinet member responsible for regeneration, said: "It's fair to say the whole thing is Government-driven and if we were in total charge we would not come up with this high a number.
"We shall endeavour to put as many as possible on brownfield sites. But it is extremely unlikely that we will be able to have them all on these sites."
Getting a good mixture of houses was almost as big a problem as finding the land, said Clr Smithson.
"Developers generally seek detached houses with four or five bedrooms because that makes money for them," he said.
"But densities will have to be significantly higher than in the past if we are to achieve the figures the Government wants.
"We also have to recognise that there is a significant need for low-cost start homes as it is reaching the point where young couples are finding it difficult, if not impossible, to buy."
