Next step for controversial new homes plan set to play out

Controversial plans for 62 new homes at Denby Dale will be decided by Kirklees Council next week.

The properties would be brought to a parcel of grassland at Cliff Hill and be a mixture of one to four bedroomed detached, semi-detached and terraced properties. The site sits to the north east of Cumberworth Lane and forms part of the northern edge of Denby Dale village.

Back in 2022, the applicant – Urban Group York Ltd – submitted plans for a 48 home development at the same site. This was ultimately turned down on several grounds including privacy concerns, concerns around remediation and contamination, and an insufficient housing density.

According to the applicant, “extensive amendments” have been made to address these concerns but residents are not convinced, with 52 representations being submitted in response to the scheme.

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One resident wrote: “The village’s infrastructure and services are already struggling with the increasing number of new homes being built and the character and nature of the village is being eroded and the end result is a poorer quality of life for everybody that lives here.”

Another said: “I am concerned the entrance to the proposed development (although just within the small 30mph section at the bottom of Cumberworth Lane) will be a major risk – adding more traffic to an already dangerous road.

“Vehicles exiting the 60mph section of road do not adequately slow down before reaching the proposed junction. How do you propose vehicles will be slowed before the junction if the current speed limit is not being followed?

“As a local resident, sharing the same street, please consider the implications of more traffic and another junction on Cumberworth Lane. This lane is used recreationally to access a playground, woods, the Bromley Park Estate, multiple businesses, and is regularly used by school children to walk home. Please consider the safety of local residents.”

In addition, Denby Dale Parish Council and the Dearne Valley Environmental Trust have also spoken out against the proposal, and the Coal Authority has also objected to the plans as the majority of the site falls within a “high risk area”.

The Coal Authority requested further information from the applicant and it is understood that this was submitted but no further comment received from the authority. However, council officers regard this to adequately address concerns.

Despite the mass of objections, council officers have recommended that the committee approve the development subject to a number of conditions. These include a £97.4k contribution from the developer towards secondary school provision, £120k for open space, £49.3k for sustainable transport measures and that 12 of the homes are affordable.

The application will be determined by the council’s Strategic Planning Committee next Thursday (May 16).

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