Councillors deferred a decision over an application to effectively double the number of wagon movements infilling a Brighouse quarry site which will eventually see homes built there.
Outline planning permission is already in place to build up to 75 homes at Pond Quarry, Lightcliffe Road, Brighouse.
But the first stage is infilling part of the quarry site, and applicant Edward Marshall applied for permission to increase the number of wagon movements to do this by varying an earlier planning condition with that previous approval.
Residents and other objectors expressed concern about about dust, disturbance and highway safety they feared potentially doubling movements from 20 in and 20 out to 40 in and 40 out per day, or, at least in the case of the variation requested, averaged out across a week, would bring.
Work is just getting under way on the 20/20 basis, councillors heard, and if approved the new condition would mean infilling must be completed two and a half years from the beginning of the new arrangement.
The benefit of allowing the application to increase wagon movements would be infill work being completed around a year and a half earlier than predicted, said planning officers, who recommended that councillors should approve the change.
But Calderdale Council Planning Committee members remained concerned.
Coun David Kirton (Con, Hipperholme and Lightcliffe) said: “It is a densely populated residential area.
“I think its going to be an absolute nightmare – 80 movements a day, it’s a huge amount of vehicles.”
Children form several primary and secondary schools regularly used the route, councillors heard.
Coun Sue Holdsworth (Lib Dem, Greetland and Stainland), said: “Can we be sure this work reduces the amount of time it takes to fill the quarry, or is it a case of ‘it might do’?”
Councillors asked questions about what would happen if lorries arriving had to queue to access the site, were concerned about the siting of the access – this is different to that which will be used for housing – and damage increased numbers might cause to roads.
Comittee Chair, Coun Colin Hutchinson (Lab, Skircoat) was concerned about movements being averaged out through the week – some days there could be 60 on that basis, he said – while Coun Howard Blagbrough (Con, Brighouse), addressing committee as ward councillor, raised worries wagons would appear on Saturdays, when families were at home.
Objector Graham Lawley urged the committee to use the existing 20 in/20 out per day limit to test feasibility, before agreeing to increase it.
An agent for the applicant said there was space on site for wagons to queue there, prepared as wagons would sometimes arrive there in quick succession – councillors heard movements would not be, for example, one wagon every 20 minutes.
The agent said the goal would be to not have vehicles impacting on school arrival and exit times.
Councillors were not convinced by explanations by officers of how a suite of planning conditions would allay their concerns about operation times, frequency and other controls, might work and agreed to defer the application for conditions to be redrafted to better reflect their concerns, before considering the application further.
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