Business park and homes scheme off M1 set for approval despite 600 objections
Proposals to build a business park and up to 100 homes on farmland off the M1 have been recommended for approval despite more than 600 objections from residents.
Opponents of the scheme at Broad Cut Farm have said the development would lead to the loss of the city’s ‘green lungs’ if it is approved.
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Wakefield Council’s planning committee has been asked to give the green light to the scheme on agricultural land near to the river Calder and junction 39 of the M1 at Calder Grove.
AAA Property Group said the development would help the local authority achieve its housing targets, create more than 700 “high quality” jobs and be worth around £40m a year to the local economy.
A total of 616 residents have opposed plans for the 22 hectare site, including local councillors and the area’s MP, as well as Crigglestone Parish Council and Wakefield Civic Society.
Those against the plans have highlighted a range of concerns relating to the development increasing the risk of flooding and harming wildlife habitats.
Others claimed local roads would not be able to cope with more traffic and said it would lead to an increase in noise and air pollution.
The Broad Cut Against Development (BAD) action group was formed by residents after details of the scheme were revealed in July 2024 and an online petition opposed to it was signed by around 2,500 people.
Jonathan Power, chair of the group, previously said: “All of this traffic would generate a huge amount of pollution and we are already in a bad state.
“If AAA are right and there are going to be 760 jobs and 100 houses, that means about 1000 people living or working in that space. That is a heck of a lot.
“Wakefield Council has got really strong policies in terms of protecting wildlife and encouraging developers to use renewable energies. The problem is, do they enforce them?
“We might not win this but at the end of the day we can look at ourselves in the mirror and say we tried. That matters.”
The council received 56 comments of support for the proposals, with those in favour saying it would boost economic growth in the area.
A planning officer’s report said: “The proposed development is acceptable in principle and, subject to the imposition of planning conditions, there are no technical reasons to withhold planning permission.
“In weighing together all relevant factors, the proposal is considered to constitute sustainable development.”
Amar Chima, director of AAA Property Group, said work would begin within 12 months if councillors agreed to the project at a meeting on February 12.
He said: “Broad Cut Farm would deliver a huge boost to the local Wakefield economy worth £40m a year, creating hundreds of new high quality manufacturing jobs.
“The innovative manufacturing park would sit alongside up to 100 new homes, connected with green wildlife areas and cycling and walking paths – creating a truly sustainable mixed-use development that would be unique to West Yorkshire.”