Sale of junior football pitches agreed to allow Hemsworth housing scheme

The deal is expected to lead to Persimmon Homes building new homes across a 7.7 hectares of land in Hemsworth.

Part of the land is used by Hemsworth Town junior football club.

New and improved replacement pitches would have to be provided at the site if the sale goes ahead.

The council said the deal will help the authority meet targets for building new homes in the district.

Cabinet members agreed to a recommendation to enter into negotiations with Persimmon for the disposal of the land at Highfield Road.

Les Shaw, portfolio holder for property and resources, told a meeting: “We have to look at some of the plots around the district.

“We all know it’s about housing, housing, housing.

“This proposal brings this forward.

“As well as getting much needed funds into the council by selling these plots of lands, we have also got a football pitch involved.

“We have got to take care that we don’t just rush into these sorts of things.”

Part of the site is also agricultural land occupied by a tenant farmer, a portion of which is owned by a trust.

The proposal includes selling the site as one to the developer, with 69% of the sale going to the council and 31% to the trust.

Any sale will be subject to planning permission being granted and is expected to take at least 12 months.

The site was removed from the green belt and earmarked for housing in the council’s new Local Plan, which was adopted in January.

Replacement playing fields must be available for use before the site is developed.

The scheme will also includes building a car park on Moorshutt Road to improve road traffic safety at school drop-off and collection times.

Coun Shaw added: “I’m really pleased with this report. We have taken account of the football pitch and people alongside of this housing to have that sort of facility.

“It suffices on the housing front and it also suffices on making sure that the facilities are still going to be there for the people.”

The sale is linked to a decision, announced in March this year, to scrap plans to build a housing estate at West Yorkshire Sports and Social Club, in Sandal, Wakefield.

In 2021, Persimmon updated proposals to put 180 homes on sports pitches at the site after planning permission granted in 2017 expired.

It sparked an outcry from residents who want the council-owned facility to be kept for community use.

The council then promised to review the scheme and said it would sell a different parcel of land elsewhere in the district to the house builder.