Go-ahead for new homes on town's outskirts

Plans have been approved to build 81 homes at Rastrick on the outskirts of Brighouse.

Calderdale Council has given the go-ahead to Gleeson Homes and Thornhill Estates constructing 19 two‑bed, 42 three‑bed and 20 four‑bed houses south east of Toothill Bank - 20 of which will be affordable housing, with 14 for rent and six for shared ownership.

Local residents and some councillors had raised concerns over issues including extra traffic, flooding risks and the impact on wildlife.

But planning officers said the matters had been addressed as developers had agreed to contribute to local infrastructure, including upgrading roads, adding bus stops and supporting biodiversity.

Regarding concerns over extra traffic, officers said it would not be "what we consider a significant amount", according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Addressing flooding fears, officers said from a planning perspective, the application could not increase flood risk downstream.

Meanwhile, they said that measures would be in place to ensure the flow rate of surface water leaving the site following its development would be less than it was now.

For the applicants, Rachel Martin said the scheme included sustainable drainage.

"Storage of water on site and restricted discharge will reduce the overall flood risk to downstream areas," she said.

Highways officers had concluded the estate layout and access would operate safely and the impact of additional traffic would not materially affect safety on the wider road network, Martin said.

As a whole, "the application delivers a high quality sustainable scheme" on land allocated for housing in Calderdale's Local Plan, she added.

The scheme was backed by a majority of councillors.

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