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Developer must pay to improve roads in village

John Greenwood
Local Democracy Reporting Service
STEN ARCHITECTURE An impression of a view of how a new housing estate would look showing housing, roads and green spacesSTEN ARCHITECTURE
The development would include 60 affordable homes, the developer says

A housing developer has been told to pay towards the cost of improving roads and other facilities in a village where permission has been granted for 288 new homes.

There were 67 objections to the Barratt Homes and David Wilson Homes scheme on land next to Wade House Road in Shelf, near Halifax, before it was approved by Calderdale Council.

Concerns raised included increased congestion, pollution, flooding and the impact on school capacity.

Councillors voted for the development to go ahead on condition that the builders made a £700,000 contribution to mitigate its effects on local infrastructure.

Council planners had already recommended that the proposal for the site was acceptable.

A mix of housing is proposed from one-bedroom to five-bedroom homes, with 60 properties classed as affordable.

They would include 22 one-bedroom bungalows managed by social housing group Together Housing.

The affordable homes, as well as a number of other measures, will be secured by a legal agreement the developer must sign with the council before the scheme can move forward.

Handout A man with grey hair and wearing a blue jacket standing on the steps of a large stone building with iron railingsHandout
Green councillor for Shelf Martin Hay said the development would not benefit the community

The developers will pay towards improvements for the Stone Chair roundabout, upgrades for a footpath between the site and Shelf Village Hall to become a bridleway, and new open space.

Funds will also go towards a Travel Plan to encourage sustainable transport.

The applicants' representative, Paul Butler, said more than 700 households had been consulted during the planning process.

"It is a high-quality development which includes large areas of open space," he said.

Objector Catherine Spivey said she was most concerned about loss of green spaces and places to walk around – these were limited already without extra people and less space, she told councillors.

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, she said she hoped measures including improvements at Shelf Hall Park would be made in consultation with community groups.

Green councillor Martin Hay said residents wanted a development to benefit the whole community and the scheme did not offer that.

Residents' concerns included adequate sewerage, flooding alleviation, noise issues during construction and pressure on services.

As it was, "the GP practice is not half sufficient for the community" and more numbers would come from the new homes, he said.

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