Pit-site housing plans put on hold

The 4.3 hectare plot of land off Whistler Drive has been undergoing preparation work to make it fit for development.

However, any further work is on hold until the planning committee make their final decision.

They agreed to defer a decision at Thursday’s planning meeting at County Hall, agreeing that they wanted more information about proposed ‘starter homes’ outlined in the application.

The committee members asked for more detailed information from the applicants - The Housing and Communities Agency - regarding their aim for 30 per cent of the homes to be starter homes, aimed at first-time buyers aged under 40.

Other areas of concern included the impact the homes would have on traffic levels, with access to the site from Whistler Drive.

Despite no objections from Highways, committee member Coun David Jones said: “ I’m getting more and more concerned about J32 (of the M62) in terms of the development taking place around here, there’s more pockets of houses being built.

“Traffic continues to build up and people are continuing to move into these areas because they see it as a way of escaping from Leeds. The area is clogged up in the morning and there needs to be some thought about the impact of these developments.”

The application is the latest for the former colliery site, with several housing developments already underway.

This includes a 259-home site by Persimmon Homes, and 124 homes from Taylor Wimpey which is largely completed. There are also plans at the site for the Five Towns Stadium which was approved in 2010.