‘Village becoming a town’: Crofton housing plans set for green light despite 500 objections

Residents, councillors and an MP have campaigned for more than two years to stop 126 homes being built on a field in Crofton.

Wakefield Council officers have recommended that its planning and highways committee approve the proposals by Miller Homes.

The site was previously greenbelt land but was allocated for housing in the council’s latest Local Plan, which was adopted in January 2024.

The application proposes a range of one to four-bedroom properties built along a new road leading from Santingley Lane.

Opponents to the scheme say the village is already “saturated” due to a spate of housing schemes in the area.

One objector said: “The village of Crofton is becoming a town with all this new development.”

Crofton Parish Council said the scheme should be refused on the grounds of its “negative impact on highway safety, environmental sustainability, and the well-being of the local community.”

Kate Wray, of Stop Crofton Developments, previously said: “In the 23 years I have lived in Crofton I have seen it grow beyond its capabilities.

“We have a doctor’s surgery that is impossible to get an appointment at, our dentist has a four-year waiting list and schools are full to the brim.

“Traffic throughout the village is atrocious at peak times. Accidents regularly happen at a time when school children are about.”

Concerns have also been raised that wildlife habits would be destroyed.

Jon Trickett, MP for Normanton and Hemsworth, and district councillors have backed objectors.

Eight comments have been made in support of the development.

One resident in favour said it would “boost the local economy” by bringing jobs to the area and increasing the number of customers at local shops.

Recommending approval, an officer’s report said: “The detailed design and layout of the scheme would result in a high standard of housing environment by virtue of the proposed layout, scale, design and landscaping that would protect the amenity of existing residents.

“There are considered to be no technical reasons to withhold planning permission.

“In weighing together all relevant factors, the proposal is considered to constitute sustainable development.”

Councillors will consider the application at a meeting on December 11.