Persimmon Homes (West ) 3 Hepton Court York Road LS9 6PW Council Civic Centre 3, Market Street, , HD1 2YZ

BY POST AND EMAIL – [email protected]

1st February 2016

Dear Sir / Madam

KIRKLEES LOCAL PLAN

Land at Wheatleys Farm, Gomersal North of M62

Persimmon Homes are pleased to submit representations to the consultation on the draft Kirklees Local Plan. These representations should be read alongside the separate representations which have been prepared and submitted by Nathaniel Litchfield and Partners (NLP) on behalf of Persimmon.

Persimmon has a number of interests throughout Kirklees which will assist the Council in meeting its objectively assessed housing requirement. More specifically, these comments are made in relation to Land at Wheatleys Farm, Dewsbury Road, Gomersal (circa 13ac). For the Council’s benefit, Persimmon controls the whole of the site and subject to the removal of policy constraints is immediately available for development.

In these representations we demonstrate that the site is a sustainable location for housing growth, and that there are no insurmountable technical constraints which would prohibit the delivery of housing at the site.

The Site

The site is situated east of Moor Lane and west of Moor Park Gardens. The land has not been identified within the draft Kirklees Local Plan, however lies east of rejected site option H315.

The land in question is situated to the north of the M62. The site is currently defined within the UDP proposals map as Green Belt land. We have previously sent written reps to the Council for the lands inclusion within the Strategic Housing Land Availability Assessment (SHLAA).

We are presently in the process of undertaking technical work to inform a site promotional document which will include; Flood Risk Assessment, Ecology Impact Assessment, Landscape and Visual Impact Assessment and a Transport and Access Appraisal. The site is within Persimmon’s sole control and is available for development now.

Green Belt

The site lies north of the Council’s Green Belt Edge Review, reference B/EB15. A review of the Outcomes of the green belt edge review (tests 1 to 2d) highlights that the site scores well in the majority of tests.

Persimmon Homes () 3 Hepton Court York Road Leeds LS9 6PW

The Council’s Tests highlight that there is that the M62 prevents merger with Gomersal, there is no risk of sprawl, there is little relationship with wide countryside and Test 2 confirms that ‘Development would have limited impact on the openness of the Green Belt’. There is an acceptance that Green Belt land will need to be released across Kirklees in order to meet the objectively assessed housing needs of the district and we are confident that the site:

• Represents a suitable location to deliver new housing in Gomersal;

• Not compromise the purpose of the remaining Green Belt land within Gomersal;

• Be integrated with the existing built fabric of Gomersal and would not appear as an isolated extension into the countryside; • Have no significant physical or environmental constraints which would impact its development.

• Not lead to unrestricted sprawl;

• Not result in the merging of settlements.

Deliverability

For the Council’s benefit, we can confirm that:

• The site is available now;

• It offers a suitable location for development;

• It is achievable and is able to be delivered within the first five years of the forthcoming plan.

Given the significant shortfall in the amount of housing land which has been identified in the Draft Local Plan (as identified in NLP’s General Representations document), and the miscalculations which have been made with regards to the capacity of proposed allocations, we believe the site should be identified within the forthcoming Plan as a residential allocation.

Should you wish to discuss matters further please do not hesitate to contact me.

Yours sincerely

Gareth Lloyd Strategic Planner

E-mail: [email protected] Enc – Site Red line plan