‘Environmental disaster’ feared as Denby Dale new homes plan to be decided

Controversial plans which some fear could cause an “environmental disaster” in Denby Dale will be decided next week.

If the application from Urban Group York Ltd is given the go-ahead, 62 new homes will be built on a plot of pasture at Cliff Hill on the northern edge of the village of Denby Dale. The homes would range from one to four bedrooms and be a mix of detached, semi-detached and terraced.

A previous application for 48 homes was rejected by one of the council’s planning committees in 2022 for a number of reasons, including privacy concerns, concerns about proposed coal mining and insufficient housing density.

Since then, a more recent planning saga has raged, with the current application expected to be decided at last month’s May 16 Strategic Planning Committee meeting. However, the committee opted to postpone this until a later date so that there could be more details. submitted by the applicant.

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Their request for information was primarily about the site’s stabilization strategy in light of its coal mining past. The company wanted to know more about the amount of coal and other materials to be removed from the site, how this would be achieved and how the environmental impact would be mitigated, among other issues.

Now that the applicant has submitted some additional information, the plans will be brought back to the commission for a decision next Thursday (June 20).

The proposals have already proved very unpopular with both local residents and ward councillors, with 55 objections lodged in response. Several speakers attended last month’s meeting to make their thoughts known. One resident described the plans as “flawed” and called on the committee to refuse the application.

Speaking about the potential impact on site traffic and accessibility, another said: “In my opinion, as a local, this is an accident waiting to happen. Someone will be killed or seriously injured as a result of accessing this site due to a traffic accident.”

A representative of the Upper Dearne Valley Environmental Trust also attended the meeting and said: the organization is completely opposed to the application. She said: “It is a cramped, overcrowded, oppressive and unattractive design on a hill and will be seen for miles around.

All three ward councilors – Cllr Tim Bamford (Con), Cllr Hannah McKerchar (Labour) and Cllr Will Simpson (Labour), echoed residents’ concerns. In a statement, Cllr Bamford said: “This development has the potential to cause environmental disaster for Denby Dale by destabilizing the site and releasing it from contamination and presenting a risk of flooding. This site is extremely challenging and in my view is not suitable for development and planning permission should be refused.”

Councilor Simpson said it would be “negligent and potentially dangerous” for the committee to approve the application without information explaining how the coal mining issues would be addressed and remedied.

He called for the application to be delayed “at the very least” and said: “My concern is that the way the remediation can be done could be worse for local residents, worse for air quality, worse for water pollution and the impact wider on the environment, worse. for transport movements rather than proposals for the houses themselves…”

However, council officers recommended the application be approved. The local authority must also take account of the neighbourhood’s housing shortage when determining planning applications.

Speaking on behalf of the developer, Will Marshall told the meeting of the “strong need” for additional housing in Denby Dale and the wider Kirklees area. He went on to tell the meeting how previous reasons for refusal had been addressed.

When the matter was discussed by the committee, Cllr Andrew Pinnock (Lib Dem, Cleckheaton) said he was “not convinced” this had been achieved. The councilor moved the adjournment of the application and this was seconded by Cllr Bill Armer (Con, Kirkburton).

After some discussion a vote was taken with three committee members voting to postpone the application – Cllr Pinnock, Armer and Cllr Mark Thompson (Con, Birstall and Birkenshaw) and three voting against – Cllr Mohan Sokhal (Labour, Greenhead ), Cllr Carole Pattison (Labour, Greenhead) and Cllr Moses Crook (Labour, Holme Valley South).

The deciding vote in favor of adjournment was cast by the chairman of the meeting, Cllr Eric Firth (Labour, Dewsbury East).

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