Planning - houses at Old Town
From Julie C
Sunday, 14 February 2016
A planning application went in to Calderdale on 9th Dec 2015 for 5 houses below Old Town Green, between the old co-op building on the corner of Walker Lane and Old Town Farm. There has been no notice displayed near the site, despite this being a development adjacent to Listed Buildings and on Greenbelt land.
Is this a deliberate mistake, or just yet another sign of Calderdale planning department's incompetence?
Application is 15/01606/CEN or just search applications for Walker Lane. There are no comments yet on this plan, presumably because the general public didn't know about it's existence.
From Chris B
Sunday, 14 February 2016
To clarify Julie's post:
Application 15/01606/CON is an application to convert the old Walker Lane Methodist chapel into 3 residential units. I don't think anyone would have any great problems with this - converting an old building to a new use is usually better than demolition, and the architects involved have a decent track record as far as I know.
The application Julie is concerned about is 15/01552/OUT - an application for outline permission to build 5 houses between the old Co-op and the farm. This application was validated on 2nd December, and I must say I don't recall seeing any yellow notices, even though I live in Old Town.
Of all the sites in Old Town where houses could be built, this has always seemed to me to be one of the least objectionable - the Co-op always looks rather lost and isolated, and a well designed terrace linking it to the farm could work well (and the quality of the design would be crucial).
The question of building on land which acts as a soakaway to slow the flow of water from the tops into the valley is obviously now a very important factor in granting planning permission, and I would expect Calderdale and the Environment Agency to look into this in great detail before granting approval.
The application seems to have (qualified) support from Highways, Countryside Services and Wadsworth Parish Council.
From Anne H
Sunday, 14 February 2016
As a near neighbour, I received notice of this proposal by letter. I didn't object because I have no objections, but I do think it's remiss of somebody not to post notices about it. I don't think they've blown away or been vandalised - I would have noticed.
From Liz D
Monday, 15 February 2016
There was definitely a notice about this development, on a lamp-post I think, opposite or near the Old Co-op building. I read it, just before Christmas, checked on the Calderdale Planning website and thought it looked good. 5 small houses with gardens, possibly even affordable (whatever that means these days!).
It has also been considered by the Parish Council, who were concerned about the ownership of a bit of land, not the actual development as far as I can remember from a quick reading of their minutes on the noticeboard opposite the P.O.