A plan to build luxury homes on the site of mothballed council premises in Mirfield has been submitted by the authority itself.
Kirklees Council has applied for permission to build eleven “spacious, detached” homes on the site of the Westfields Centre next to Knowl Park.
The suburban site next to the town’s main public park was once home to social services, community care services, and a children and family assessment office.
The council announced earlier this year that staff working at the Westfields Road premises were to move out and some of the buildings demolished as it looked to sell the site.
The Victorian built site features an 1868 built former mill owners house, but the property is not listed.
The plan for large four-bedroom homes has now been submitted in conjunction with a plan to convert the 19th century stone building into apartments.
The existing care home facility at Orchard View is to be retained and will be served by a new access road.
Each of the homes would have a double garage and space for at least three vehicles on driveways.
The Westfields site was developed as a children’s home in the 1970s and became a residential centre for “disturbed children”.
The new proposals say that although the site is unallocated in the Unitary Development Plan, the fact that there were staff quarters in the centre means it has a history of residential use.
Many residents in Mirfield have voiced concern about the number of housing applications planned for the town.
Several hundred new homes have been proposed in various locations and there have already been protests and petitions.
