Outline Planning Consent Granted for Land at Chidswell Scheme

On Thursday 8 December 2022, Kirklees Council’s Strategic Planning Committee resolved to grant consent to two outline planning applications for the Land at Chidswell development in West Yorkshire. The applications were submitted in mid-2020, one for an initial first phase of 181 new homes, and the other for the remainder of the development proposals.

The site is allocated for mixed-use development in the Kirklees Council Local Plan; it will deliver 1,535 new homes, of which 20% will be affordable in line with local planning policy, and 122,500 square metres (1.2 million square feet) of B1-B8 employment floorspace (across 35 hectares), alongside a new primary school, local centre and community facilities, extensive areas of public open space, and new walking and cycling routes.

Pell Frischmann, working in collaboration with planners Deloitte, has provided transport, highway engineering and infrastructure consultancy services. Members of the Pell Frischmann project team have been involved in the scheme for over 10 years and, to support the two outline planning applications for the site, prepared a comprehensive Transport Assessment and Framework Travel Plan, and undertook detailed modelling for numerous off-site junctions, including the M1 Junction 40 (Flushdyke Interchange) and the M62 Junction 28 (Tingley Interchange) on National Highways’ Strategic Road Network. We have engaged regularly and throughout with officers from Kirklees Council, the Local Highway Authority for the site, as well as officers from and consultants representing National Highways, Leeds City Council and Wakefield Council, due to the site’s proximity to these areas.

Pell Frischmann’s Land Development Sector Director, Paul Smith, said:

The granting of consent represents the culmination of 10 years hard work and a significant programme of stakeholder consultation with local residents, businesses and interest groups.

Moving forward, the proposals will see the delivery a comprehensive package of transport and highways measures, designed by Pell Frischmann, including:

Five new site access junctions, including two new signal-controlled junctions on the A653 Leeds Road dual-carriageway;
Improvements to off-site junctions, to deliver additional highway capacity and to provide pedestrian, cyclist, and road safety improvements;
Measures to discourage/prevent rat-running on Chidswell Lane to the south of the site;
Contributions towards future public transport services and local bus stop improvements; and,
The delivery of a Travel Plan, to promote and encourage sustainable travel across the site.