Plan to build homes on former Hemsworth Athletics Stadium site recommended after 15-year delay and Supreme Court ruling

The scheme has been delayed by almost 15 years due to legal action which ended with a Supreme Court ruling.

Saul Homes seek outline planning permission to build the properties on the former Hemsworth Athletics Stadium site, off Kirkby Road.

Plans include the construction of bungalows and a range of two, three and four bed houses.

The original plan was submitted in January 2008.

They were approved in principle by Wakefield Council in 2010 but the decision was quashed by the High Court because of the Council’s failure to carry out a screening opinion.

A screening opinion helps developers get an idea of how likely an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) will be needed before a formal application is submitted.

In 2016, a screening opinion was subsequently carried out and the application was reconsidered and approved.

The decision was quashed again by the High Court after another legal challenge.

The Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government then directed that the plan was not an EIA development.

A further legal challenge was made which was dealt with at the Supreme Court in May last year, where it was ordered that permission to appeal be refused.

Wakefield Council’s Planning and Highways Committee will reconsider the application at a meeting on Thursday October 13.

Two residents have objected to the plan with concerns about noise, dust and pollution during construction.

They are also worried about traffic problems as there will be only one access route to the development.

Hemsworth Town Council have written a letter claiming Saul Homes should pay additional Section 106 agreement money.

Section 106 agreements are paid by developers when they build homes, to help fund local infrastructure.

The Town Council acknowledges that the company has already paid £50,000 and replacement sports facilities have been built on land at Sandygate Lane.

But it claims the firm should pay £350,000, as agreed in 2016.

Recommending the scheme for approval, a report to councillors states: “The proposed development is considered to be acceptable in principle and, subject to the imposition of planning conditions, there are considered to be no technical reasons to withhold planning permission.”