PLANS to redevelop the last piece of a former water treatment works site near two busy motorways have been refused amid concerns about an increase in traffic on local roads.

The scheme for the remaining section of Yorkshire Water’s old North Bierley site on the edge of Bradford had been recommended for approval, with neither the Council’s Highways team or Highways England raising an objection.

But at a Kirklees planning meeting, it came down to the chairman’s casting vote – and the outline scheme for 130,000 sq ft of industrial space between the M62 and M606 was refused.

Bradford Telegraph and Argus:

Keyland Developments, the property trading arm of Kelda Group and sister company to Yorkshire Water had lodged its plans for the once-safeguarded land around 16 months ago.

Some land around the Chain Bar roundabout had been held back from development at National Highways request as it was potentially needed as part of a new road to link the two motorways.

At Kirklees Council’s strategic planning meeting, Cleckheaton councillor Andrew Pinnock said he was concerned that while the scheme may not be included in the latest strategic plans, the land could still be required in the future.

He said: “Chain Bar roundabout at Junction 26 on the M62 is the subject of a lot of the thoughts of people in Cleckheaton at the moment. This is partly to do with the Amazon application, which we can't avoid locally.”

“The traffic generation from the potential Amazon site will blow any other calculations out of the water.”

He called for the plans to be refused as he was concerned the development could become an “obstruction” to any Chain Bar alleviation scheme needed in the future.

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Councillors also raised concerns about the impact of both the development of the northern part of the site and this latest southern section – and the cumulative impact on Cliff Hollins Lane and Mill Carr Hill Road in Oakenshaw, which would be used to access both developments.

Council planning officers had recommended the scheme be approved, saying that junction improvements on lanes near the entrance to the development – secured through the earlier plans – had already begun and are already enough to mitigate the impact of developing the southern section of the site, they said.

Speaking for the developer at the meeting, Matthew Shepherd said: “This is a pretty small development. It’s only 130,000 sq ft and the number of vehicles it generates is very small. We’ve worked hard to make sure that the traffic effects are acceptable.”