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Friday November 14, 2014
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HOMES PLAN IS ‘BARKING MAD’
By David Miller News Reporter
davidmiller@thepressnews.co.uk
BUILDING 30,000 new homes across the area is “barking mad” without improvements to North Kirklees’ infrastructure, a councillor has warned. Coun Vivien Lees-Hamilton (Con, Mirfield) criticised a lack of joined-up thinking in Kirklees Council’s draft Local Plan. She said there is currently no mention of the extra jobs, school places, roads and health services
needed to support new homes. The Local Plan, unlikely to be in force until 2017, is intended to replace the ill-fated Local Development Framework. Its demise means Kirklees is saddled with a system from the 1990s which is considered years out of date. The Local Plan will set out how land for homes and industry is allocated over the next 15 years. Coun Lees-Hamilton, also Mayor of Mirfield, said: “It’s absolutely barking mad to plan for these homes without the infrastructure that people will need. “It makes me believe those who
came up with this don’t live in the real world or go out beyond their own front door. “They must think everybody has a job, that it’s local, and that they don’t need schools, don’t have a car or need public transport.” Coun Lees-Hamilton added Mirfield Town Council is so concerned that it will push on with its own Neighbourhood Plan. This would cover the need for infrastructure and would legally supercede the Kirklees plan in Mirfield. But Coun Lees-Hamilton added: “We’ve had the Mirfield Design Statement since 2001 which is sup-
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posed to govern some of these issues. “If I had £10 every time Kirklees had over-ridden it in favour of a developer then I’d be living in Barbados by now.” Cabinet member for regeneration Coun Peter McBride (Lab) said the council is in a ‘chicken and egg’ situation. He said: “We’ve got proposals for major transport improvements. But to meet those we’ve got to have an approved plan. “If there’s not enough provision for us to grow we will miss the
Continues on page two
REAL WORLD: Coun Vivien Lees-Hamilton has slammed the draft Local Plan
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