Mirfield housing estate being recommended on ancient floodplain

The controversial scheme, which has been vigorously fought by local campaigners, comes before Kirklees Council's Strategic Planning Committee on January 27.

And if members back officers' recommendation for full planning permission then 67 houses will be built on the watermeadow off Granny Lane in Hopton Bottom, which regularly floods during heavy rain.

The scheme, which has been back and forth from committee over many months, is being supported by council planners as part of the authority's Local Plan, which aims to build 31,000 new homes across the district over the next decade.

Many will have to be built within the green belt, as there is insufficient non-green belt land in the borough.

If the project is green-lit Wakefield-based developer Miller Homes will have to contribute towards local amenities including paying £3,000 for a piped watercourse at the southern edge of the site and £5,000 for research and improvements to Valance Beck, which contributes to the flooding of Granny Lane.

The money would go towards measures aimed at stopping debris flowing downstream and thus reducing the risk of blockages.

The company will also be expected to make arrangements to secure the long-term maintenance and management of water drainage on the site.

The Lead Local Flood Authority - which is Kirklees Council - has raised no objection to the Miller Homes plan subject to the submission and approval of a drainage scheme "to serve the development or each agreed phasing of the development to which the dwellings relate and thereafter retained".

That includes stopping silt and other contaminants from entering drains and watercourses, as well as preventing flooding of adjacent land.

Two groups, Save Mirfield and Granny Lane Area Action Group (GLAAG), have spearheaded the campaign to stop the development going ahead, along with local Mirfield councillors.

Hundreds of people have added their signatures to petitions and protest letters.

Mirfield Town Council strongly opposes the plan.

And, in August last year, objectors said they were prepared to mount a legal challenge if the matter was not taken back to committee for reconsideration.

A judicial review has also been mooted should the scheme be approved.

The Housing Secretary, Robert Jenrick, has previously refused a request for the plan to be called in for review.