COUNCILLORS have clashed over a controversial development on moorland in Huddersfield.
Kirklees Council planners last week approved a £200m data campus on Lindley Moor despite protests from residents who want to protect the open space.
Yesterday, a Lib Dem councillor criticised Conservatives on the Huddersfield Planning Sub-committee for supporting the proposal.
Clr David Ridgway of Colne Valley said: “The Conservatives have shown their true colours and surely can not be trusted to defend Lindley Moor from this dangerous application.”
Lindley Conservative Clr Tony Brice, who is a member of the sub-committee, was unable to vote on Thursday because he had earlier spoken publicly about the plan. His place was taken by Kirkburton Conservative Clr Christine Smith, who voted for the development.
Clr Ridgway said: “The Conservatives say they are against this application. But at the meeting they voted in favour of turning Lindley Moor into an industrial complex.”
But Clr Brice defended his party yesterday.
He said: “I had to stand down from the sub-committee because I had already expressed an opinion on the plan.
“I have no control over how my party colleagues vote, they have to be impartial and vote on the merits of the case.
“You can’t vote on party political lines.”
The plan passed by nine votes to four, with some Lib Dems voting for and some against.
