THE potential impact on infrastructure of almost 10,000 new homes over the next 15 years was put under the microscope at hearings into Calderdale Council’s draft Local Plan.

Inspector Katie Child, conducting hearings into the plan’s suitability, said she thought there were some inconsistencies and would be asking for some more clarity from the council, particularly relating to transport.

For Calderdale Council, planning lead Richard Seaman said there was a focus on south east Calderdale because the two Garden Suburb sites near Brighouse – Woodhouse and Thornhills – were the most significant strategic developments with the most complex issues regarding infrastructure needs.

“But the plan is certainly not silent on approach to infrastructure in other areas of Calderdale,” he said. Major schemes including those on the A629, A646 and A58 were some examples of these, he added.

On highways infrastructure, Calder Valley MP Craig Whittaker said large numbers of homes which would be placed in south east Calderdale would be built where there was already concern.

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“The reality is everybody has to drive through Brighouse or Hipperholme to get to Leeds,” he said.

Coun Steven Leigh (Con, Ryburn) agreed and said that as a route to the M62, additional traffic would add to existing congestion problems at Ripponden and would affect Greetland, another area where a large number of new homes might be built.

Brian Crossley, of Shelf and Northowram Local Plan Forum, said about 1,000 homes were proposed in his area’s case but there was nothing in the current IDP to deal with the problem, despite modelling evidence showing huge amounts of traffic which would affect roads already congested at peak times.

“Something’s out of kilter so far – we either don’t build the houses, or we do something about it a damn sight quicker,” he said.

Anthony Rae, representing Calderdale Friends of the Earth, said the group was concerned about the adequacy of the modelling because traffic growth was a critical issue, impacting on so many other areas of the plan.

Others had raised concerns about more traffic generated by new homes impacting on Hipperholme, Ripponden and Shelf and Northowram, he said.

On schools provision to serve Garden Suburbs, Mr Whittaker said documents showed land for a free school, which might alleviate some pressures, was not on the site shown in the draft Local Plan but on the opposite side of the valley, raising infrastructure and air quality issues.

Mr Seaman said the council had assisted the free school academy in identifying potential sites and they were not fixed yet.

Jonathan Dunbavin, of ID Planning, for Thornhill Estates and other developers, said masterplanning for Garden Suburb sites had been carried out and identified for primary schools at both sites.

“We are confident we have got the right site in the right location, and it can be deliverable by major landowners in the time frame the council requires,” he said.

Other infrastructure needs will be discussed at future sessions and are likely to resurface when the focus turns to proposals for individual areas of Calderdale.

Hearings will be ongoing, with some breaks, until November 24, screened via the council’s YouTube channel.