Ref: PDW03553 HMCA\Topic: Outer South West

Subject: Site in the plan

Site: HG2-171 - Westerton Road East Ardsley

Agree with proposed use? No

Soundness

Consider the plan sound? No

Test of soundness addressed: Positively prepared Effective Justified Consistent with NPPF

Changes required to make sound: 1) Construction of Schools both Primary and Secondary on new sites as the existing sites are incapable of expansion.The plans for this area in total are for 1700 dwellings, using Childrens Services data these will require - 479 Primary School places = 16 classes of 32, 171 Secondary school places = 6 classes of 28.

2) The area needs a thorough appraisal of public transport and its options

3) There is no site for a railway station at East Ardsley, most of the area around the railway line is in developers hands and is virtually built over.

4) Park and ride facilities for travel on public transport into Leeds

Issues

Issue: Ecology/Landscape/Trees This is the last remaining open area and views of the original Haigh Moor to the south and south west preserved since the 1950’s However this site has remained undeveloped, with "cherry picking" of development sites with road frontages on Westerton Road. West Ardsley has had major developments in the last 50 years, various small developments on and off Haigh Moor road, The views of the moor and reservoir to the South West having been lost by local developments at Waterwood Close. The "red" wood has been affected by the culvertisation of springs emanating from the old Blackgates School fields and indiscriminate tipping of waste sub soil. Most footpaths have been ploughed or lost thereby creating a narrow scrub path through the wood and surrounding fields. The large development of 2,500+ houses by Persimmon and McLean Homes on the School fields have removed a substantial portion of green open space in the area. The latest development of Sandringham Gardens by Redrow and the developments to Waterwood Close and Westerton Road by Stonebridge Homes have concealed all open views to the South and South West. The whole character of the area has been changed from a large semi rural village to a dormitory suburb for Leeds. All these sites have been developed without additional facilities, shops are minimal unlike Leeds suburbs, and piecemeal developments will not rectify this. Issue: Local services Medical and Health care Doctors, a new much larger surgery with more staff and doctors, and routine appointments are still at 3 weeks waiting time. The site is not capable of further expansion, and the car park is inadequate. No buses from West or East Ardsley pass the existing surgery site, so cars are the only alternative. Retail Provision The shortage of local retail outlets, resulting in journeys to major centres which again hardly fits any government’s sustainability strategy. There are minimal shops to the area, a new Tesco Mini market has recently opened in the area, the result of which 2 local shops on Westerton Road have ceased trading has as a mini supermarket (CostCutter) on Lowery Road. This was the only retail outlet provided by the developer who built on the locally known Blackgates "school fields".

Transport and roads All roads through out the villages of , and West and East Ardsley are classified as ‘minor’ roads or at best sub feeders to the A650. There has been a recent visit by local Councillors and Highways representatives to the Junction of Haigh Moor Road with Westerton Road to judge the effects of recent developments on this junction. Exit to the main roads, A650 and A653 is problematic, with 10/15 minute queues at peak times, and a complete nightmare when the M62 is closed. A journey by car to the centre of Leeds is approximately 45 minutes to an hour at peak times with queuing from the White Rose Centre to the Centre of town. An infrequent and extremely poor public transport system which hardly fits any sustainability criteria. The criteria of a service every 20 minutes for this area would be I deal, however there is a service to major centres at hourly intervals- i.e 1 bus every hour to Dewsbury, , Leeds, and Morley. There are no buses through this area which pass the Medical Centre at Leigh View, the nearest stop is 600 metres distant. In terms of a sustainable location, the ‘Accessibility Standards’ of the Core Strategy require 5 or more dwellings outside the Main Urban Area to be within a 15 minute walk (up to 1200 metres) of local services, within a 5 minute walk to a bus stop offering a 15 minute service to a major public transport interchange for employment, within a 20 minute walk or a 5 minute walk to a bus stop offering a direct service at a 15 minute frequency to Primary Health/Education, within a 30 min direct walk or 5 min walk to a bus stop offering a 15 minute service frequency to a major public transport interchange for secondary education and within a 5 minute walk to a bus stop offering a direct 15 minute frequency services to town centres/City Centre.

85 Morley to Bramley via 15 past the hour Hourly No Sunday service 40 mins 85 Bramley to Morley via Leeds city centre 33 past the hour Hourly No Sunday service 21 mins 117 Leeds to West Ardsley 29 past the hour Hourly “off peak” 36 mins 117 Wakefield to West Ardsley 39 past the hour Hourly “off peak” 50 mins 141 (1) Wakefield to Flanshaw n/a n/a School bus 141 (1) Flanshaw to Wakefield n/a n/a School bus 153 (2) Rothwell to Castleford n/a n/a School bus 153 (2) Castleford to Rothwell n/a n/a School bus 205 Dewsbury to Pudsey to Morley 18 mins past Hourly No Sunday service 12 mins Journey 205 Pudsey to Dewsbury 29 mins past Hourly No Sunday service 31 mins Journey 425 Wakefield to Bradford via Morley 41 past Hourly 20 mins Journey 425 Bradford to Wakefield via Morley 54 past Hourly 14 ins Journey 427 (3) Wakefield to Bradford via A650 15 past hourly 26 mins Journey 427 (3) Bradford to Wakefield via A650 10 past hourly 10 mins Journey (1) 141 is a school service that doesn’t run through the village (2) 153 hasn’t run through this village for 18 months (3) Nearest stop on Bradford Road a. Smithy Lane junction / A650 1.0 mile distant b. Garden House Lane junction / A650 1.4 miles distant c. Westerton Road Junction / A650 1.7 miles distant Leeds Hourly 2 buses 40 min journey 36 min Journey To Wakefield Hourly 2 buses 50 min Journey 20 min journey To Morley Hourly 3 buses 21 min journey 12 min journey 14 min Journey

Issue: Schools With regard to education provision, in terms of the schools formula, Children’s Services advise that the estimate of how many pupils a housing development generates is based upon Pupil Product Ratios (PPRs). Through the use of empirical studies, the Education Department has established PPRs appropriate to Leeds of 28 primary children and 10 secondary pupils per 100 new dwellings. Children’s Services also advise that the nearest primary school to these proposed developments are Blackgates, Westerton, and Hill Top Primary Schools, where there is little or no spare capacity in the coming years whilst the nearest secondary school is Woodkirk Academy, which similarly has little or no spare capacity in the coming years. Schools for the potential children from these proposed development sites are where? There are no places in this area. has stated they have no plans for a new School or an extension in the area. Westerton School has been replaced with new and expanded and still cannot cope, and the same is true of Hill top. Construction of Schools both Primary and Secondary on new sites as the existing sites are incapable of expansion.The plans for this area in total are for 1700 dwellings, using Childrens Services data these will require- 479 Primary School places = 16 classes of 32 171 Secondary school places = 6 classes of 28. Nowhere on the proposed plans for the area are areas shown as reserved for Educational buildings.

Legal compliance

Consider the plan legally compliant? No

Legal compliance issues addressed:

Local Development. Scheme Statement of community involvement Duty to co-operate Consultation of statutory bodies

Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act Sustainability appraisal Town and Country Planning Regs

Comments on legal compliance: A similar site on Haigh Moor Road was adjudged by Leeds South and West Plans Panel and they rejected the proposal to build on the site at their January 2015 meeting. Subsequently the Developer submitted an appeal against the South and West Plans panel decision. An Independent Planning Inspector visited the site in July 2015 and agreed that this site should be preserved as it remains the last open view through to East Ardsley. The East Ardsley Special Landscape Area is an area of undulating arable fringe agricultural land centred on the axis of a tributary of the Hey Beck containing several mature woodlands and the major water body of the Ardsley Reservoir and enjoying long-distance views to the South. It is considered within the UDP that the area constitutes the best landscape in the Morley Area. Positive features are its strong structure and visual unity, interesting topography, local rarity, natural or semi-natural woodlands, trees, hedgerows and water bodies. I recommended that the site be placed within the Special Landscape Area and preserved.

Future updates

Take part in public examination? Be informed of submission to examination? Be informed of adoption of the plan? Submitter details Agent details Ref PDP01523 Ref Title Mr Title Forename Alan Forename Surname Weldon Surname Address 1 88 haigh moor road Address 1 Address 2 west ardsley Address 2 Address 3 Nr wakefield Address 3 Town Town PostCode wf3 1ee PostCode