New application for 59 houses on Dunford Road

  • New detailed planning application for 59 houses on Dunford Road, slight reduction numbers and no shop
  • Habitat surveys already underway
  • Further rumours of land sales to developers

Since the last update about the flyer from Savills, we have learned that a detailed application has now been submitted (ref 2017/91623) – this can be found on Kirklees Council’s website by clicking here.

It is interesting to note that this time Jones Homes are submitting a detailed application (that means there are more plans and reports to consider), that the number of houses has been reduced from the first application (slightly!) to 59 and that the shop has been omitted. The applicant suggests that approval of the detailed application will allow a quicker start but does not say what will happen to the first application. The applicant has also suggested that the reduction in the number of houses and omission of the shop is (in part) due to the views expressed by locals, this is misleading and we will be making this clear to the Council in due course

There are also rumours that other pieces of land in the same tract have been sold to developers, we are keeping our eyes on this in case another application comes in.

More advice coming soon

The HEFF committee will be going through the new planning application and make some recommendations as to how villagers can make their views known with the dates by which this should be done. Don’t worry too much about the dates currently shown on Kirklees website as these will be amended when site notices go up.

We expect that we will restating the same points that were raised last time round as the new application has shown little change with additional comment on the new plans and reports.

We remain of the view that development of the scale proposed is still not appropriate or sustainable given the location of the site and the nature of the village. We also know that we continue to be up against it given Kirklees’ situation and track record. However we believe we have a good team and we will nevertheless continue to work hard to oppose the proposals in their current form. 

How can you help?

  1. In due course we will be calling upon as many people as possible to oppose the application (see above). More advice coming soon.
  2. We have also depleted the funds we raised last year and will be looking for your generous donations. 

Thank you for your support so far and keep tuned in for updates soon.

 

Local Plan News:
While all this activity is going on, Kirklees Council’s new Local Plan is moving ahead slowly –we have submitted comments and the next key stage is where a Government appointed inspector takes charge of the process and calls an “examination in public” – this is a relatively informal process where comments from invited parties can be discussed with the inspector and the Council and the inspector can decide whether any further changes to the plan should be made. This next stage is not expected to take place until September by which time the new planning application could have been to Committee so that will be our main focus of attention. We are aware that many villagers made comments on the Local Plan so thanks for your contributions.

 

HEFF update October 31st 2016

From the outside looking in, it may seem to have gone fairly quiet on the Dunford Road Jones Homes front. We can assure you though that there has been plenty going on.

Members of the HEFF committee have made many representations over the past few weeks…
We’ve had a meeting with Kirklees planning department, and made further representations to the Parish Council, who remain very supportive about our argument regarding the scale and type of the development. There have also been many other discussions with local and regional groups and councillors.

You may be aware that while this has been going on, there has been a revised Local Development Plan put forward by Kirklees, in which the land on the planning application is now recommended as a development site. This flies in the face of Kirklees’ own recommendations before and seems, if you’re of a cynical nature, to be very ‘convenient’. This was done in a way that would get minimum opposition, it could have almost been described as underhand on the part of Kirklees planners, and was voted through by council.

Where are we now?

So now we have two things to fight. The application first, and then the Plan designation. We think we have a strong legal case to say that the council/applicant haven’t undertaken the necessary legal surveys they need to with a site that is this close to the Peak District National Park. We aim to fight this in the first instance. We will be then pushing to get the recommended allocation changed in the Local Plan.

We will be needing you to support us in trying to change the allocation when the public consultation period starts in November. We’ll be in touch….

Thanks for reading,
The HEFF committee

Time’s Running Out!

post image 20160901

Just a reminder that time’s running out for objection letters to be in to Kirklees. The deadline is a little vague and has changed on a couple of occasions, but we’re advising people that all objections are in for 7th September.

If you need a hint of what we think are the best tips for objecting, please click here.

To make things easier we have created a template for your letter: PDF Document (not editable) or Word Document (editable with MS Word)

 

Public Meeting 23/8/2016

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Hade Edge village meeting 23rd August 2016

Jason McCartney MP joins Hade Edge Villagers to ‘Fight for the Fields’ – Residents campaign against proposed development of ‘Unsustainable’ new housing estate

Hade Edge residents, Council members and Jason McCartney MP came together at a public meeting in the village clubhouse last night to unite against the proposed development of a new housing estate in the heart of the village.

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VIllagers stream to the Hade Edge village meeting 23rd August 2016

An outline planning application for the development of 66 new houses and a convenience store on Dunford Road was submitted to Kirklees Council by property developer Jones Homes in early August. Residents attending last nights’ meeting were clear that this is only the tip of the iceberg as far as they’re concerned – it’s apparent from the applications supporting documentation that, if approved, Jones Homes intend to develop up to 180 new houses in total, effectively doubling the size of the existing village.

Hade Edge residents last night slammed the planned development as ‘unsustainable, excessive and opportunistic’ in terms of its impact on the existing village, and vowed to fight the application through legal channels, as well as submitting mass individual objections to the council. Members of the Holme Valley Parish Council confirmed that they have voted unanimously to oppose the development.

A member of the ‘Hade Edge Fight For The Fields’ community action group told The Huddersfield Examiner, “It is clear that the Holme Valley South is under siege from opportunistic national property developers who have no stake in our communities or countryside. Hade Edge is the latest village to be targeted in a drive to maximise new ‘roof count’ despite the devastating impact on environment and infrastructure. As villagers, we’re not opposed to measured local development, but the overwhelming feeling here tonight is that what’s being proposed is excessive in scale, disproportionately increasing the size of the village – it’s unsustainable. This can only have a negative impact on Hade Edge, so our meeting tonight is a show of solidarity in opposition to this proposal – we will fight together to protect our fields”.

MP Jason McCartney added “This is exactly the kind of battle I’ve been involved in in our valley for the last few years, and I will work with and support the Hade Edge action group all the way on this. As in many other area across our region, either where development has already taken place or where there are new planning applications, the infrastructure just isn’t in place for wholesale mass development – it’s totally inappropriate. There are numerous sites better suited to development than here. We must fight to protect the beauty of our villages and to keep them special”.

 

If you missed the meeting you can download the presentation here

Public Meeting 23rd August, 7pm

What are you doing at 7pm next Tuesday evening? You can help shape the future of Hade Edge.

As you’re probably aware the Jones Homes planning application for 66 houses on Dunford Road had gone live and individuals have 21 days to object.

Please come down to the Hade Edge Football club to

  • Get an update on progress so far
  • See details of options for objecting
  • Get clarification on what happens next

The HEFF (Hade Edge Fight for the Fields) committee have put a lot of work in up to now and we’re now asking for the village to come together and beat this. We genuinely think that Hade Edge has some unique points that give us a chance of winning.

PLEASE ATTEND NEXT TUESDAY TO WORK TOGETHER TO WIN.

Planning Application is now LIVE

It has come to our attention that the planning application is now live on the Kirklees website:

https://www.kirklees.gov.uk/beta/planning-applications/search-for-planning-applications/detail.aspx?id=2016%2f60%2f91967%2fW

The case officer is Louise Bearcroft.

 

We will be convening a public meeting as soon as we can. We are asking as many people as possible to object, and also engaging with professionals to put the best possible objection together.

We intend to help as many people object as possible in the most effective way – please keep in touch for updates. Feel free to email hadeedge@hadeedge.com if you have any questions.

Dunford Road Development – Things are about to start happening

Thanks for your interest in the proposed development by Jones Homes at Dunford Road, Hade Edge. You may or may not be aware, there has been a lot of activity since the first public meeting at the Hade Edge Football Club on 14 June, mainly around gearing up for an objection to a proposed planning application.

The Working Group

An official working group was formed after the public meeting – the group meets weekly, but up until recently it wasn’t actually definite that an application had been submitted. (It is now). In preparation, we have been busy with the following:

Parish Council Planning Committee

We have attended two Parish Council planning meetings to get this application onto the local agenda and make sure the local representatives are aware of the strength of opinion.

The Village Gala

We had an ‘Information Desk’ stand at the Gala on 9 July, this was well attended, 100+ people signed a petition opposing development of the fields at Dunford Road.  Our local MP Jason McCartney is on fully on board as you can see from this image.

Background Research and Making Connections

The Group has conducted extensive research into Council policy and other planning decisions which may have some relevance to our situation.  We have also been accumulating knowledge of other matters which we hope will make an impact on the planning decision.

The Group has met a number of other local interest groups who may be able to offer us some support and whose experience may be helpful to us.

Professional Help

All in the ‘working group’ are very enthusiastic and energetic – but we are laymen – and we only get one shot at this. To this end we have approached a planning consultant and solicitor and have them lined up to advise on an objection. We believe it is important that no stone is left unturned and that an objection is best made with professional advice.  

The Official Status According to Kirklees

Last week a small representation met Council Officers and as a result have a clearer view of where Jones Homes planning application has got to:

  • A planning application for 66 dwellings has been submitted but has not been validated. (‘Validated’ means that all necessary information has been submitted sufficient for Kirklees to put the application ‘live’’).
  • Kirklees Officers expect to have validated the application in approximately 2 weeks time
  • This means that the application will be live on the Kirklees website and planning notices will be posted in the vicinity, we estimate, by mid August.

There Will be a Limited Time to Object

As soon as the application goes live we will be holding another public meeting with the following purpose:

  • To review the current status of the application and the campaign so far.
  • To outline to everyone the key points that should form an effective objection – that can be made by the group, by local residents and any interested parties.
  • To show how we intend to help, guide and support everyone who wants to make an objection.

Once the application goes live, the ‘statutory period’ for objections to be submitted is 21 days so the clock is ticking. We may be able to get an extension to this in order to prepare our case – but we should be all prepared to act fast.

For any further information please make sure you leave your details here  – or please get in touch at hadeedge@hadeedge.com.

As a result of engaging professional help, it’s inevitable that costs are going to be incurred. We’d be delighted to hear from anyone who can help us raise funds to try and protect our village.

 

Hade Edge Gala

We’re planning to have a presence at the Hade Edge Gala at the football field on the 9th of July.

We’ll be providing updates, advice and detailed information on the status of our campaign there. Don’t forget to call in and lend your support.

 

We will be keeping people up to date via SMS, email and phone. If you haven’t already PLEASE add your details by clicking here.

Holme Valley Parish Council Planning Committee meeting 27/6/2016

A visit was made to the HVPC Planning Committee meeting on 27th June 2016. Although the planning application has not yet appeared on the Kirklees website, we want to keep the councillors aware of our plight. We delivered short representations about the likely impact on our village – an unsustainable increase in size if this development is allowed to proceed.

Verbal and visual representations (satellite views with developments superimposed) were made and were duly received by the councillors. Digital copies were subsequently distributed to councillors.

A report was made to the committee by Tim Walshaw about the public meeting that had taken place; again this was received with interest by the councillors.

Whatever happens with the formal planning application, the intention is to keep the councillors in the loop and keep a dialogue going.

Just how big could this development be?

As an illustration, we’ve prepared a graphic (below) which shows the full potential scale of the development if the entire extent of the ‘safeguarded’ land is built on with the same housing density. We think there would be approximately 175 homes – this would increase the size of the core village by about double.

This development changes the dynamic of the whole village and changes the rural landscape forever.

 

We will be keeping people up to date via SMS, email and phone. If you haven’t already PLEASE add your details by clicking here.

 

3 hade edge - proposed dev applied to extent of safeguarded

 

 

VIllage Meeting 14 June 2016

Thanks to all who attended the meeting at Hade Edge football clubhouse on the 14th to discuss the proposed plan to build on green field land next to Dunford Road. The place has never been as full, with people unable to fit in the main room and having to listen from the corridor.

An presentation was given to bring people up to speed, then a lively debate was had over a multitude of issues.

We will be keeping people up to date via SMS, email and phone. If you haven’t already PLEASE add your details by clicking here.

Things will be happening fast and we’ll keep you in touch.

This site will be updated with tips for opposing the development, and advice on when and who to contact.

Thanks

Steve

 

 

hade edge Village meeting 14 June 2016 overflowing