CrowdJustice

May 16, 2023

A Calderdale community group seeking a judicial review of a council’s decision to adopt the authority’s controversial Local Plan has hit its initial fundraising target. By John Greenwood - Local Democracy Reporter Published 16th May 2023, 11:30 BST- 2 min read Clifton Village Neighbourhood Forum set up a Crowdjustice funding page to raise money for legal costs which will arise from a bid to challenge the process, which could see hundreds of new homes built across Brighouse and other parts of the district over the next decade. The Brighouse-based group needed to raise at least £15,000 and has now reached that initial target. Advertisement The forum has reported on its website that legal papers were filed at the High Court on Friday, April 28, and served on Calderdale Council and the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, Michael Gove MP, on May 2. An aerial view of Brighouse where thousands of new homes could be created on fields and open spaces as part of Calderdale's controversial Local Plan, which was adopted by councillors in March 2023. Most Popular The claim seeks an order quashing the decision to adopt the Calderdale Local Plan . The group says it “provides several detailed grounds for the claim, including errors of fact within the Inspector’s Report on which the decision to adopt was based.” Advertisement In March Calderdale Council agreed to adopt the plan which could see almost 10,000 new homes built in the borough by 2033, including the creation of huge ‘garden suburbs’ on fields and open spaces at Woodhouse at Brighouse and rural Thornhills at Clifton. Planning Inspector Katie Child , who oversaw the four year-long examination process of the land-use blueprint, said she found that subject to some main modifications – which councillors agreed to make – the Local Plan was “sound”. Campaigners and councillors fighting the Local Plan proposals lobby outside Halifax Town Hall ahead of a council meeting in March. The council argues the new homes are needed, particularly if the borough, which has an ageing population, is to attract new businesses and grow, also citing extensive waiting lists with the borough’s main social housing provider. Advertisement