Kirklees councillors postpone LDF withdrawal decision

Kirklees councillors have delayed a decision to withdraw its blueprint for home and business development.
DECISION DELAYED Kirklees Council is still to decide whether its LDF plan, which includes green belt development, should be withdrawn.DECISION DELAYED Kirklees Council is still to decide whether its LDF plan, which includes green belt development, should be withdrawn.
DECISION DELAYED Kirklees Council is still to decide whether its LDF plan, which includes green belt development, should be withdrawn.

Cabinet members had been expected to accept a recommendation to withdraw the Local Development Framework (LDF) when they met this afternoon (Tuesday).

But they decided to wait until the planning inspector appointed to review Leeds City Council’s plan reported back.

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Kirklees’ LDF sets out the areas in which the council believed 22,470 new homes could be built by 2028.

It also includes the release of 122 hectares of green belt land for employment use.

The plan was submitted to the Government for approval in April, despite thousands of objections from local people.

But the process was halted when a independent planning inspector reviewing the document voiced concerns.

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He questioned the use of green belt land, lack of consultation with neighbouring councils, and insufficient housing land.

Cabinet member Coun Peter McBride said: “Given the response of the inspector, we need to assess the options for our LDF.

“On the face of it, it seemed that withdrawing the strategy was best. However, Kirklees is not the only council developing its strategy, and the duty to co-operate applies to other councils.

“The planning inspector examining the Leeds plan will be holding a meeting within the next week on this issue and it would seem sensible to await the outcome of those discussions before we take our next step.”

It means the full council will no longer be asked to vote on withdrawing the plan when it meets July 10.