Thornhills planning application information

Development of 308 residential dwellings with associated access and landscaping – Phase 1A of the Thornhills Garden Community.

Land West Of Highmoor Lane Highmoor Lane Clifton Brighouse Calderdale

Deadline for comments was Friday 6th September 2024

308 dwellings 24/00251/FUL

Disclaimer: The information on this page is provided in good faith, but the authors cannot accept any responsibility, legal liability or claims for loss or damages. You should seek independent professional advice if you have any consequential interest in this application.

Responding to planning applications

Works well

  1. Factual answers that provide local knowledge
  2. Focusing on issues or gaps in evidence
  3. Highlighting concerns where the application deviates from approved policy

Avoid

  • The value of my house will drop
  • Question of destroying greenbelt
  • The wrong type of development (unless it contradicts policy)

Start here

  1. Log in to Calderdale Planning Portal
  2. If you haven’t logged in before, you will need to register first
  3. Remember to add YOUR perspective to any comments
  4. You can either Make a comment or submit your comments in writing (include the planning application reference number 24/00251/FUL). Send this to Planning Services, C/O The Town Hall, Crossley Street, Halifax. HX1 1UJ.
  5. Get in touch with your local councillors to let them know your issues/concerns

Questions to consider

Travel Plan

Travel Plan
 What should a Travel Plan do?
  • The Residential Travel Plan should promote walking, cycling and public transport as the primary modes of travel
  • To deliver mode shift from car journeys to alternative modes, including multi-occupancy
    vehicle trips;
  • To reduce vehicle emissions through the take up of alternative transport modes;
  • To deliver education and promotion of walking and cycling as options for a healthier
    lifestyle; and
  • Use suitable monitoring and reporting
Travel plan questions to consider:
  1. The travel plan states that a residential MetroCard will be offered to one resident of each new household upon first occupation. Is this a realistic option to encourage people to use the bus?
  2. What would you like to see changed with the travel plan to encourage more people to use the bus?
  3. Is the current bus service suitable?
  4. The travel plan states that it is possible to walk to the nearest Primary School in 15-20 minutes. Is this realistic? What additional measures would you want to see to make this development sustainable?
  5. The plan suggests that the railway station should be 10 minutes by cycle. Does the plan accurately reflect the actual position? Can you provide any examples to back up your point?

Block of Flats at the highest part of the site

Site layout
 What is the issue?
  • The Adopted Thornhills Garden Community Masterplan SPD chapter 4.3 on BUILDING HEIGHTS & DENSITY BUILDING HEIGHTS

4.3.1 Drawing strongly from local character, the majority of homes within the Garden Community will be 2 – 2.5 storeys high, also helping to reduce the site’s visual prominence within the surrounding landscape. 

4.3.2 Some areas of the site which are flatter or less visible from a distance may have the potential for buildings up to 3 storeys in height, but these should be focussed within areas of higher density, a more urban character, or where an increased sense of enclosure is beneficial – for instance along the Primary Street (refer to section 4.5) or alongside open spaces.
  • To deliver mode shift from car journeys to alternative modes, including multi-occupancy vehicle trips;
  • To reduce vehicle emissions through the take up of alternative transport modes;
  • To deliver education and promotion of walking and cycling as options for a healthier lifestyle; and
  • Use suitable monitoring and reporting
 Jay House Lane corner flats: questions to consider:
The proposal includes a large block of flats on the top corner of the site (described as a primary frontage in the Design and Access Statement). The 3-storey block will be taller than the surrounding houses.
  1. Do you think placing the large block of flats on the top corner of the site is appropriate?
  2. Will a high structure here imporve the site’s visual prominence within the surrounding landscape?
  3. Is it appropriate to have a large block on the extreme edge of the site, or would it be better along the Primary Street as recommended in the Masterplan SPD?

Collaboration between landowners

Collaboration between landowners – What is the issue?

The Adopted Thornhills Garden Community Masterplan SPD chapter 6.5 on LANDOWNER COLLABORATION REQUIREMENTS:

6.5.1 In order to satisfy the requirements of Policy IM7, the LPA will need to be satisfied that a collaboration agreement (CA) has been entered into by all relevant landowners to provide reassurance to the LPA that delivery of key parts of the Garden Community are capable of being brought forward in a comprehensive manner.

6.5.2 Accordingly, on submission of any planning application, the LPA will need to be satisfied that a legally binding CA has been entered into by all relevant  landowners that will provide sufficient reassurance to the LPA that the delivery of key elements of the rest of the Garden Community can be secured.

Landowners - who is in the agreement?

The map on the left was presented to the Planning Inspector in 2020 to show the extent of the Thornhills development and which landowners were willing to sell.
We have added a Yellow line to show which landowners have signed a legally binding agreement to sell as part of this development;
The blue area inside '1a' is roughly the extent of the first planning application.
NO landowers outside the Yellow line have not signed a legally binding agreement to sell.


Map: CC95-LP1463 Land Ownership

Collaboration between landowners: questions to consider:

The application includes evidence of several landowners who are members of the Thornhills Consortium Agreement (TCA); however, not every landowner within the allocation is included in this collaboration.

  1. Not every landowner has signed a legally binding agreement. Are you comfortable that evidence exists that every landowner is willing to sell?
  2. Does this application satisfy Calderdale’s Policy IM7 (Masterplanning) requirements? Are you confident that it shows the development can be delivered?
  3. Since the proposals do not include Open Space, would it make more sense to make the entire site agreement before any planning applications are presented?
  4. Phase 1a is largely flat, relatively easy, and probably cheap to develop because it will require less remedial work. There is a substantial risk that future phases (particularly some outside the yellow line) will cost more to develop, but if the landowners are outside this agreement, will the site-wide risks a collaboration agreement should cover be missed?
  5. Does the lack of site-wide agreement make it easier for other landowners to demand more (ransom) in the future?
  6. If parts of the development to the South and East are not developed, what will that do for the development and Master Plan? For example, does this mean the development will not deliver the full 1,998 dwellings?

 

Housing mix

Housing mix – What is the issue?

The Adopted Thornhills Garden Community Masterplan SPD chapter 5.5 on PRINCIPLES OF DEVELOPMENT:

A broad mix of homes will be required in the Garden  communities. The predominant type of homes will be two- or three-bedroom but developers will be encouraged to meet the unmet need for bungalows. In line with Local Plan policy, the mix should be informed by the most  recent Strategic Housing Market Assessment together  with other relevant and recent information as well as considering market factors and the location and characteristics of the site.

The following mix will be sought:
• One bedroom: 10-15%,
• Two and three bedroom 60-80%
• Four bedroom plus 10-15%

Housing mix: questions to consider:

Application 24/00251/FUL does not follow the Masterplan principles of development housing mix

  1.  The Masterplace expects 10-15% of the development should be one-bedroom dwellings – application 1a has NO one-bedroom dwellings – is this acceptable? Would one-bedrooom accommodation (bungalows and flats) be appropriate in a mixed-community development?
  2. According to the application’s Afforable Housing Statement, the justification for not providing one-bedroom dwellings is that “there is less demand for 1-bedroom properties in semi-rural locations outside of built-up urban areas” – Do you accept this statement? Is this odd consdiering the large block of flats proposed at the top end of the site?
  3. Calderdale’s Housing Market mix targets expects 36% of a development would be two-bedroom dwellings, on Thornhills it’s just 20% – two-bedroom homes make great starter homes, is it right development 1a only has 61 allocated rather than 111?
  4. If Calderdale’s housing market assessment is followed, the plan should include 102 three-bedroom dwellings, while the proposal includes 198 three-bedroom homes. What does this imbalance mean for occupation? Will increasing the number of larger homes increase the potential number of cars in use?
  5. Four-bedroom homes should account for 14% of the development. The developers have increased this from 43 to 49 for phase 1a. Is this acceptable? Will this increase the potential for larger multi-car occupancy as with three-bedroom dwellings?

 

Housing density

Housing density – What is the issue?

The application Masterplan SPD Compliance Statement claims that “Phase 1a has been designed in accordance with the SPD Masterplan Document”.

Designing in accordance with a masterplan document is not the same as full compliance with a masterplan document.

Housing density: questions to consider:

Designing in accordance with a masterplan document is not the same as full compliance with a masterplan document.

  1.  Is it acceptable that application 1a can be designed in accordance with the Supplementary Planning Document, or do you expect full compliance with the requirements set out by Calderdale?
 
The Thornhills Garden Community Design Code SPD set the dwellings per hectare (dph) at 30 – 35 for the land covered by application 1a.
For this development, that would mean around 294 dwellings but the application proposes 308. Considering that 30-35 dph was above the number in Calderdale’s evidence (of just 19 dph), is it acceptable for the development to increase the housing density above the SPD?
 

Open Space

Open Space – What is the issue?

The application falls short of the required open space provision

Open Space: questions to consider:

If application 1a does not include sufficient open space requirements, do you have any concerns or alternative suggestions? If the other landowners do not enter the agreement, then there is insufficient open space on the site. Should the council require the developer to include an appropriate amount of open space in every application?

 

Construction Issues - dust, noise, traffic, light, hours of work

What are the possible construction issues for this application?

The application lists the open hours and identifies several possible construction issues that the builder proposes to address. The builder has released a construction plan showing how application 1a will be developed and a construction management report detailing how the construction will be undertaken.

Construction Issues: questions to consider:

Working Hours

Working Hours: 08:00 – 18:00 (Mon – Fri) and 09:00-13:00 (Sat)
No working Sundays or Bank Holidays.
No work or deliveries to be accepted outside these times.

  1. Are these times reasonable for the entire site?
  2. Should a buffer zone be placed on work near existing homes?
 

Construction Noise Management
Plant selection and maintenance
– A policy will be adopted where plant on site is reviewed to ensure it is the quietest available for the required task;
– All plant, equipment and vehicles will be fitted with appropriate noise suppression equipment to reduce noise levels as far as is practicable;
– A regular and effective plant and equipment maintenance programme be implemented to ensure equipment is operating according to manufacturer’s specification;
– Where practicable the use of electric power should be chosen over diesel engines;
– Mobile and static plant will be located as far as possible away from dwellings;
– If the noise is directional the source will be pointed away from noise dwellings whenever practical;
– The location and orientation of site offices and buildings should be considered in order to maximise the separation distance and screening provided from site operations to dwellings;

  1. Should the developer be required to use temporary shields or sound barriers to stop noise from escaping during work near existing homes?
  2. Does the construction noise management plan give you confidence that the development can measure and mitigate noise issues? How will noise pollution be measured? Should there be a specific requirement to measure noise pollution?
  3. If mains electricity is provided on site from the start of the project, this will prevent the use of generators. Would you agree that it should a planning condition to provide mains electricity at the start to prevent use of generators?
 

Construction Dust Management 
Topsoil and subsoil stripping and storage 

– Topsoil stripping and storage is almost always carried out in periods of dry weather in order to protect the soil structure. To minimise the potential for dust emission it is advisable that this operation is carried out as quickly as possible. 

– Soils handling will be suspended near any sensitive boundary if weather conditions prevail that will result in the possibility of dust being raised and carried off site. 

– Water assisted dust sweeper to be employed on access and local roads to remove material tracked out of the site. 

– Haul roads to be hard surfaced with the use of a bowser / sprinkler system to dampen down material prior to cleaning. 

  1. Do you believe the developer has detailed the ‘prevailing weather conditions that might result in the possibility of dust being raised and carried off site’, or should specific measurements be required here?
  2. Should the site be required to mesasure windspeeds to make sure dust is not blown off site?
  3. Should a maximum windspeed be imposed to halt work before dust is blown off site?
  4. Should there be a planning requirement that the water supply is required to be working at all times the site is operational?
  5. On-site concrete mixing can be a substantial cause of dust. Would it make sense to prohibit on-site concrete mixing?

Mitigating trackout

– Water assisted dust sweeper to be employed on access and local roads to remove material tracked out of the site.

– Haul roads to be hard surfaced with the use of a bowser / sprinkler system to dampen down material prior to cleaning. 

  1. Avoiding mud on the local highway is essential. Should the builder be required to keep a log of sweeper activity on access and local roads?
Loading / Unloading & Material Storage

– Free falling fine material can be entrained by the wind and larger material can fragment by impaction if loads are dropped from height. Dust emissions will therefore be reduced by minimising drop heights during loading and transfer.

– Loading and unloading areas to be sited where possible with some degree of protection from wind dispersal.

– Unless impractical, material to be wetted down. Where materials must remain dry additional sheeting or covers should be employed.  

  1. Should there be a requirement that loading and unloading areas must be sited away from existing homes?
 
Wheel Washing Facilities
– Topsoil strip – wheels of vehicles to be washed with jet wash prior to exiting site.
– Road & Sewer/House build – jet wash to be available for wheel wash and used within site to ensure public highway is kept free of mud and debris at all time.
– Regular road sweeps to be booked in. Look to increase these when anticipated traffic movements are higher than usual. 
 
  1. Is the wheel washing policy appropriate?
  2. Would you like to see more stringent requirements during the road and sewer/house build phase? For example, in wet weather, should all wheels be washed before leaving the site?
  3. For transparency, should the regular road sweeps be logged for inspection by Calderdale Council