Appeal after Wakefield council rejects plans for business park and 100 homes on farmland

A developer has lodged an appeal over the decision to reject plans to build a business park and around 100 homes on farmland next to the M1 motorway in Wakefield.

In February this year, Wakefield Council’s planning and highways committee voted against the proposed development, saying it would have a “severe” impact on the local road network at Calder Grove.

More than 2,500 residents signed a petition and 616 lodged formal objections to the scheme at a 22-hectare site at Broad Cut Farm.Opponents said approving it would also lead to the loss of the city’s ‘green lungs’.

Others claimed local roads could not cope with more traffic and said it would increase noise and air pollution. AAA Property Group said the development would help the council achieve its housing targets, create more than 700 jobs and be worth around £40m a year to the local economy.

The company lodged an appeal against the decision to the Planning Inspectorate, who this week informed the council that the matter will be determined at a hearing on a date yet to be fixed.

Documents submitted on behalf of the appellant said “a substantial body of technical work” had been prepared as evidence to address issues including traffic generation.

Speaking at the committee meeting earlier this year, Jonathan Power, chair of the Broad Cut Against Development (BAD) action group, said: “The vast majority of local residents are vehemently opposed to this application.

“There are no benefits to the local community. It certainly doesn’t bring the highly skilled jobs promised in the original plan.

“It will, however, increase traffic and bring congestion to an already saturated road network.“

“The potential for chaos is absolutely obvious, and all within yards of junction 39 of the motorway. Residents are extremely concerned about the implications for road safety.

“Indeed, they see it to be a serious risk to life.”

Local councillors and Jade Botterill, MP for Ossett and Denby Dale also objected to the plans, as well as Crigglestone Parish Council and Wakefield Civic Society.

Speaking in favour of the project, Amar Chima, director of AAA Property Group, said the council and West Yorkshire Combined Authority had identified the site as a “future growth location.”

He told councillors: “Wakefield has long been recognised as a strategically important location for development, benefiting from excellent connectivity and a strong labour market.“

This proposal responds directly to that demand and will deliver an advanced manufacturing hub to support Wakefield’s economic strategy and the wider West Yorkshire economy.

Mr Chima described his company as a “local family business”, adding: “We have chosen to reinvest in the district that raised us, rather than choosing to take that investment elsewhere.

“We are fully committed to delivering the best possible scheme at Broad Cut Farm to maximise the benefits for the local area.” Council officers had recommended that the plans be approved, saying there were are “no technical reasons” to withhold permission.

Councillors voted in favour of refusing the scheme on highways grounds by a majority of seven votes to two.