Chidswell housing plans: Campaigners pursue legal challenge against controversial development near Dewsbury

In December, the council’s strategic planning committee approved plans to develop more than 1,500 homes at Chidswell and Heybeck.

Members of the Chidswell Action Group (CAG) attended the meeting to voice their concerns but the application was granted outline planning permission regardless. This means that plans have got the go-ahead, but specifics will need to be given at a later date.

The CAG believes that planning permission should not have been granted and previously requested that the decision was deferred until numerous matters were resolved. One of which relates to the value of the land.

The group is now planning to apply for a judicial review – a challenge to the way a decision has been made.

The land at the development site is primarily agricultural, with data from a previous application suggesting that some of it falls into the category of "best and most versatile land”. Council guidelines indicate that land of this kind should not be built upon if avoidable.

However, planning officers have argued that the soil quality could have changed in the interim, though the CAG reports that an independent expert disputed this claim.

To determine the land’s quality at present, an Agricultural Land Classification Survey would need to be carried out. However, the applicant – the Church Commissioners for the Church of England – has refused to undertake the survey. The council has also failed to push the applicant to do so, despite four calls from Natural England.

Along with the issue of land classification, campaigners raise the issue that the ecologies and species surveys that support the application were conducted more than four years ago and are regarded to be out of date according to the Chartered Institute of Ecology and Environmental standards.

Campaigners drew upon the 2018 surveys carried out by Brooks Ecological on behalf of the applicant which showed that large breeding assemblages of yellow hammer and skylark could be displaced by the development. This is said to have a negative impact on a district-wide scale.

The group also highlights that the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust (YWT) regards the applicant’s Biodiversity Net Gain calculations to be flawed and will incur a growth lower than the 10 per cent stated by the applicant.

Kirklees Council’s policy requires a minimum of 10 per cent Biodiversity Net Gain.

Since the council’s decision was made, the group has fundraised more than £2,500 and enlisted the help of a barrister who specialises in planning to work on the case. The group aims to raise a total of £20,000 to cover legal costs or a continued challenge to the wider planning process.

A spokesperson from CAG said: “We were shocked at the Kirklees strategic planning committee’s decision to approve the application.

“We intend to apply for a judicial review of the authority’s decision as it has shown disregard of planning policy and law. On a site of this scale this is simply not acceptable.

“We’ve engaged a specialist planning barrister to represent us and are asking the community to help us raise the required legal fees. Further details on the legal challenge and fundraiser can be found at chidswellactiongroup.org/donate.”