High Court gives green light to challenge to Local Plan
A local activist group has gained permission from the High Court for a judicial review of Calderdale Metropolitan Borough Council’s local plan.
Clifton Neighbourhood Forum said deputy High Court Judge Karen Ridge granted permission for the challenge, which will argue there are significant errors in the Calderdale strategic transport model that underpins the plan’s assessment of the impacts of the plan’s development allocations.
A forum spokesperson said: “From the beginning, we believed that Calderdale ignored essential transport evidence. We participated in the process, brought in independent transport experts, and presented evidence explaining that despite what the flawed [model] suggested, the reality of the transport and traffic situation is that the Calderdale highway and transport network cannot cope with the local plan proposals.”
The forum said West Yorkshire Combined Authority had said a new £629,000 transport model was necessary for Calderdale because the current one "would not stand up to scrutiny in a public inquiry.”
A council statement said the High Court had agreed to the judicial review on only one ground - whether the planning inspector concerned adequately explained her conclusions on transport impacts.
It said the court rejected other grounds about the inspector’s finding that the proposed garden communities in Brighouse and Rastrick were deliverable and removal of land from the Green Belt.
Leader Jane Scullion said: “Whilst it is disappointing that one of the community group’s arguments will go to a formal court hearing, we are pleased that two of the three grounds were found not to be arguable.
“Both the council and the Secretary of State responded robustly to the bid to challenge the local plan process, and we will defend the plan’s adoption at the hearing. It will build a better Calderdale for everyone, open up opportunities for new investment, help create jobs, develop much-needed, high-quality new homes, and protect our natural environment.”
Mark Smulian
