Council issues verdict on Denby Dale housing scheme amid ‘disaster’ warning.

Denby Dale residents can breathe a sigh of relief as plans for 62 homes have been rejected by Kirklees Council.

The proposals from Urban Group York Ltd would have brought the properties onto a grazing land at Cliff Hill, which is on the northern edge of the village. The application, previously branded an “environmental disaster” by a ward councillor, had already been delayed once so more details could be provided to the Strategic Planning Committee.

The committee requested more information on plans to stabilize the site, given its coal mining past. However, when it came to a vote yesterday (June 20), not all members were convinced the concerns had been adequately addressed, with the application rejected by three votes to two.

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The meeting saw a large turnout from the local community, who urged the committee to reject the application. All three ward councilors – Cllr Tim Bamford (Con), Cllr Hannah McKerchar (Labour) and Cllr Will Simpson (Labour) – were also vocally against the scheme throughout the planning process.

A resident and parish councillor, Neil Denby, said: “Essentially this is a proposal for a noisy, high traffic industrial site involving coal mining in the heart of a rural village.

“It will affect the village for years, block an important access road to shops and businesses in the village center and lead to unacceptable levels of noise pollution, traffic pollution, air pollution, loss of both visual and natural amenities. It is an unsuitable site that should not be developed simply because Kirklees has not met its housing targets.”

Another resident, Jack Little, said: “I am concerned that this application includes a plan to remediate the site through coal mining but lacks substantial detail on how this will be achieved. In effect, it will be an open pit coal mine in the center of the village and bordered on three sides by existing properties.”

On behalf of the applicant, Mark Lane spoke in support of the plans and said: “This will not be a coal mining operation, it will simply be work to stabilize the land to allow houses to be built. This will be a waste and will not be extracted commercially. This equates to approximately 10 HGV movements in and 10 HGV movements per day.”

When the matter was referred to the committee, Councilor Mark Thompson (Con, Birstall and Birkenshaw) moved to refuse the application saying: “Without a doubt, I would propose to refuse this application on the grounds of the environment, unsuitability and potential risk to existing residents and potential residents who would live there.”

This was supported by Cllr Ammar Anwar (Kirklees Community Independent, Dewsbury West), who said he agreed with most of the concerns raised by residents.

After a long discussion, the scheme was rejected by a single vote. Cllrs Anwar, Thompson and Bill Armer (Con, Kirkburton) voted to refuse the application, with Cllr Mohan Sokhal (Labour, Greenhead) abstaining. Councilors Andrew Pinnock (Lib Dem, Cleckheaton) and James Homewood (Labour, Greenhead) voted against refusing the plans.

The committee’s decision contradicted the views of council officers who had recommended the application be approved. An officer told the meeting that, in their view, there was insufficient evidence to support the committee’s reasons for refusing the scheme, but officers would “do our best” if the applicant decided to appeal.

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