We are disappointed to share that our High Court legal challenge to the Calderdale Local Plan was unsuccessful. Throughout the local plan examination process, we collaborated with transport, infrastructure, air quality, and planning law professionals to provide detailed submissions to help shape a sustainable and deliverable local plan.

The permission to proceed to a full hearing of our legal challenge was granted because a Deputy High Court Judge agreed that ‘the Inspector didn’t adequately grapple with critical concerns around the Calderdale Strategic Transport Model (CSTM), instead adopting the Council’s case in this respect.’ However, the judgment handed down today found no legal inadequacy for the Planning Inspector’s reasons.

The judgment is concerned purely with the adequacy of the Inspector’s reasoning and does not vindicate or endorse Calderdale’s Transport Model. It remains our position that the Transport Model is not fit for the purpose of showing the actual impacts of the development allocations included within the Calderdale Local Plan, as it underplays levels of highway congestion, including around the Brighouse area.  Every planning application that comes forward will still need to demonstrate that it does not result in a severe impact on the highway network, and we believe this test will not be satisfied.  

We have not yet had the opportunity to review the findings and thoroughly comment in detail. The Forum and the wider Calderdale Together community will meet soon to discuss the findings and potential outcomes. At this stage, we want to express our deepest gratitude to all the people who have steadfastly supported our legal action and our professional team for their diligent work.