Clifton Village Neighbourhood Forum (CVNF) continues to participate in Calderdale’s local plan examination, seeking a sustainable and deliverable outcome for Clifton Village as part of our work in creating a viable neighbourhood plan.

Calderdale submitted its local plan under the NPPF 2019 transition arrangements. At the time of submission, the council confirms the plan is ready for examination – further changes to the plan should only be made as main modifications or at the Inspector’s request.

CVNF engaged professional advisors to help formulate a response to the local plan and inform a neighbourhood plan for Clifton Village.

Your forum has continued to raise concerns that Calderdale Council is still releasing documents, including new evidence, during the examination process.

This drip-feeding of evidence makes it difficult to provide an informed opinion and has resulted in additional expense for the CVNF because new evidence requires further work from our professional team.

The CVNF raised issues with the inadequacies of the transport model back in 2017, backed by independent road traffic surveys and modelling work. To date, this evidence hasn’t been challenged or refuted by Calderdale. Yet, the Council continues to rely on outdated modelling to justify its assumptions on traffic congestion, ambitious housing and economic growth and downplay the impacts of air pollution.

The CVNF responded to the documents released since the plan’s submission and will participate in the subsequent hearings scheduled for June 2021.