Kirklees residents are being urged to help shape the borough’s new Local Plan which will impact “generations to come”.
A Local Plan is a legal requirement for councils and sets out how much land can be developed and where to meet the needs of local people and businesses. The current plan, adopted in 2019, is undergoing a full review after being found to be unfit for purpose. It includes some of the borough’s most controversial developments including the 4,000 home Dewsbury Riverside scheme and the 1,500 home development at Chidswell.
The first stage of the consultation on Kirklees’ updated Local Plan began on Monday, 25 November and will run until Friday, 28 February, 2025 and asks residents and businesses to give their views on what they would like to see in a Local Plan. Once adopted, the new plan will continue to govern how all planning applications are assessed.
Councillor Graham Turner, Cabinet Member for Finance & Regeneration, said: “This new Local Plan will set out a planning framework until 2043, with its impact felt for generations to come, so it’s important to make sure that we get it right. This early engagement will help us consider how we can best support the health and well-being of our residents, support our local economy to be sustainable and resilient, and how we can effectively deliver our housing needs while meeting our climate goals.
“There are many challenges ahead, including how we can deliver the required number of new homes, and plan for jobs in a sustainable way whilst ensuring that we protect and enhance the qualities at the heart of Kirklees’ character.
“Once complete, this plan will bring huge benefits for everyone who lives and works in Kirklees. We’ll be engaging with the public every step of the way on this because what we’re working for is the future of our district.
“Given the importance of the local plan and its impact on everyone I would urge people to get involved. We really do want this plan to be a peoples’ plan and that can only happen if people engage with the process over the coming years.”
Potential changes in national planning policy anticipate that the numbers of new homes required in the future will be higher than the housing requirement of 1,730 new homes per year, which is set out in the current Local Plan. This is based on the government’s commitment to get Britain building again.
In addition to the housing and employment opportunities outlined in the Local Plan, other considerations are that it must consider community needs and promote healthy, safe communities, including provision for social, recreational, and cultural facilities as well as the promotion of sustainable transport.
Residents and local businesses can comment throughout the three-month consultation. The comments, alongside updated evidence on Kirklees issues, will inform draft policies and options for the location of development.
There will be a first opportunity to consider these through further early engagement before the council issues a draft of the new Local Plan for consultation later in 2025, with a complete draft of the Local Plan ready for a final consultation in 2026, before it is submitted to the government for examination.
For more details and to provide feedback, please visit the Local Plan webpage https://www.kirklees.gov.uk/beta/planning-policy/local-plan.aspx.
