S.O.S!Latest News9 November, 1999 SOS ACTION GROUP NEWSLETTERSafeways Back in Chiller Cabinet – For Good!In a superb display of people power, the residents of Scissett and Clayton West have won their battle to keep Safeways out in the cold. The original property consortium of Safeways, City Link Properties and Oakes Estates has withdrawn its application, first lodged last January, to build 320 houses and a new supermarket. The developers claim they gave up after considering the views of the objectors. SOS believe the truth to be somewhat different, as it became clear to the developers that their application was failing. It flew in the face of the Unitary Development Plan (the Council's own document on future planning). It also failed on traffic and environmental grounds, with vital reports missing from day one. In a hard hitting statement from the developers sent to the local press, the development consortium said residents have been "…totally dismissive of significant benefits…". In reality, says SOS, the developers were always blind to the people's significant objections. Since January, SOS has fought hard against the developers' plans. Local councillors were bombarded with over 2,000 objection letters and made very aware of people's feelings. SOS gained three seats on the Parish Council, winning ahead of many well-established councillors, and voted in on a mandate to stop insensitive development. Warning But SOS warns that, while everyone deserves a pat on the back for a battle won, the war is not yet finished. A second application is currently being considered and a third application, to develop Nortonthorpe Mill, has also been lodged with the Council (see Parish Council and Its Not Over Until the Fat Lady Sings stories). Rumours of yet more plans are circulating daily and Scissett and Clayton West remain under siege. Your Letters Please SOS needs your letters NOW. Objecting by letter is still one of the best ways of expressing disgust with the proposed development within the villages. With each newsletter there is a letter; please sign and drop it off with Josie at Clayton West Stores, or Christine at Lindsey's Café, Scissett. These do make a difference and helped SOS win first time round. As soon as possible please. Parish Council Says “On ‘Yer Bike,” Again The Parish Council once again took the lead in defending Scissett and Clayton West by voting "No" to the latest application to build new houses on green fields. The plans, from Oakes Estates, are for 92 new houses on six acres of land behind the swimming baths. The land is the same as that fought over with the first application, when Oakes Estates was part of a consortium with Safeways and City Link Properties. SOS councillors Iain Bowie, Josie Hall, and Sharon Gaunt led the way by raising widely-held fears on the effect of over 100 more cars using the Sunnymead (Scissett swimming baths) and Wakefield Road junction. There was also no answer to SOS councillors' questions as to how much Kirklees Council stand to make from the sale of a ''ransom" strip of land behind the swimming baths which is the only access to the site. Usual practice dictates that such land is worth a large proportion of the total land cost. SOS believes that the figure could be in the region of £500,000. Principle Planning experts on the SOS committee point to a principle established by the Lands Tribunal Case, Stokes v Cambridge Corporation 1962, in which an access was held to be worth one third of the development land it served. With the Scissett development value of the land estimated at £1,580,000, anyone can do their sums. The Council should also include within their calculations the scope of further development which might rely on the same access piece of land. If another development of the same size follows on from the first, as SOS fears, then the land can be even more valuable. Developers obviously are anxious to avoid paying any more money than they have to, but they should also want be seen to be fair and honest. They should be seen to pay the correct price for a such a piece of land. SOS understand that the land in question already is the subject of a £10,000 option, paid by the developer for exclusive rights to purchase should the plans go ahead. Previously the Council has refused to discuss, or disclose, the price for the land. But as vendors of the land, as well as trustees of the swimming baths, the Council now have a duty to start talking. SOS is asking for full and open clarification from Kirklees Council to ensure that the beneficiaries of the swimming pool charity, the residents of Scissett and Clayton West, will not be short-changed should the development go ahead. IT'S NOT OVER UNTIL THE FAT LADY SINGS Safeways may have thrown in the towel but Oakes Estates still plans to develop the land behind the Scissett Baths, and Nortonthorpe Mill has joined the fray with plans for a food store within its buildings. The Oakes Estates management lodged their second application - this time
for 92 dwellings on six acres - before they had even withdrawn their first. This is
despite a concerted residents campaign against any new building on the controversial site.
The developers failed to get their 320 houses and supermarket in one go, but SOS believes that they intend to do it by stealth and over a period of time. SOS is also worried that the developers remain ignorant of the basic drawbacks of siting such a development in Scissett and Clayton West. Traffic is truly a serious problem on Wakefield Road and the environmental damage caused by ripping out fields is devastating. For example, the developers' latest environmental report says little about the large, and protected, newt colony that live on the site. Some of the species found on the site are some of the most protected amphibians in the world. SOS is demanding that their plight is taken seriously by both the council and developers. Surprise In a surprise move Nortonthorpe Mill management have lodged plans with the council for a food store and car parking behind the Queens Public House and up to the Body Zone gym. This would undoubtedly mean the closure of several small businesses and the demolition of old mill buildings. It also raises the same fears over whether Wakefield Road is able to withstand the resulting significant increase in traffic. SOS has been saddened by this further application, which it believes shows a distinct lack of understanding of residents' wishes. Perverse It seems perverse to many that, despite making it clear for the last nine months that they don't want Scissett or Clayton West to be the subject of major development, applications are still being lodged which go so obviously against local wishes. SOS wonders if local democracy really does work, or if there are people determined to implement their ideas, above those of people in the majority. Open-Cast Miners Fight On Despite Being told No, No, No The Council's planners don't want it, the politicians don't want it, the people don't want it, yet Cobex Limited still intends to open-cast mine the site off Litherop Road. Following a visit from members of the Planning Sub-Committee (Heavy Woollen Division) and subsequent vote, Cobex was refused permission to remove the 275,000 tonnes of coal which lie near the surface. This came after a recommendation from the Council's own officers that permission should be refused. Local people were against the plan and made their feelings known to local councillors. Even Cobex's promise of spending over £100,000 on local causes was seen as a possible diversion from the destruction of the local countryside. Committed SOS understand, although it has to be confirmed, that the Cobex management are to appeal and plead their case in front of an independent inspector within six months. It is thought that the money Cobex will now spend on their appeal is the very money that they promised to give the community. Many previous appeals have been won by open-cast mining companies, so SOS remains committed to continuing the fight. It has been heartened by the wholehearted rejection of the plans from every quarter and now expects to work alongside Kirklees Council in resisting Cobex's ultimate goal. UDP. Written in Blood? It may sound like a nasty skin complaint, but actually the UDP, or Unitary Development Plan, is the planning gospel according to Kirklees Council. Finally agreed in May this year after years of wrangling, it presents the development plans for the whole Kirklees area. Traditionally the play thing of the local politicians, the residents of Scissett and Clayton West were unaware that the guide might contain their undoing. SOS arguments are often met with the refrain, if it's in the UDP, then it must happen. This is untrue. The UDP is an ever-evolving plan which can be changed and this process is beginning again soon. SOS is also the first to admit a certain naivety about the UDP and that most residents missed its importance while it was being discussed first time around. Public meetings were held and advertisements placed in local newspapers. In reality few people knew or understood anything about the UDP and its implications. That in itself, believes SOS, is a reflection not on people's apathy, but on how the important issues were not made clear. If a question had been properly asked of the community, for example, do you realise that the UDP will allow widespread development in your village, then local reaction might have been better. The fact that the UDP was ratified last May without 'grassroots' trouble should be no temptation for local politicians to now use it as a sweeping justification for forcing issues through. Long Term SOS knows that in the long term, if the villages are to be protected from further insensitive developments, then it must fight to have the UDP changed. Land earmarked for housing around the villages should be turned back into greenbelt. Trying to change the UDP will be a long and painful process. But SOS believes that it now has the expertise to take on such a task. The bigger prize may be years away, says SOS, but it's worth fighting for. SOS Committee Changes as New Fights Begin SOS Joint Chairpersons Helen Gee and Elizabeth Lawton have stood down from
their roles at the sharp end of the fight. New Chairs Taking over the reins, and with a hard act to follow, are the Reverend Philip Reynolds, vicar of Sklemanthorpe Church, now Chairperson of SOS, and Josie Hall, SOS Independent Councillor, and now Vice-Chairperson. Joint Secretaries are Louanne Craven and Sue Lockwood, with the role of Treasurer being shared by Becky and Christine Sykes. Departure Another departure from the Committee, and once again deserving a large round of applause, is Claire Long who has penned most of the SOS planning objections. With heavy commitments elsewhere she has left the Committee, but will still take a lead role in fighting the developers at their own game. Still adding their weight to the SOS objections are Nick Rose and David Newby. Neil Camp continues as press officer and spokesperson. David Collins remains in charge of newsletters. Newcomer Terry Sigsworth brings a wealth of experience fighting environmental issues. Councillors Rejoining the committee is Iain Bowie, who along with Josie Hall (Vice-Chairperson) and Sharon Gaunt (not on the committee) make-up the SOS Independent Parish Council contingent. SOS councillors, elected for four years, have already attended five monthly meetings and have taken an active part in discussions and votes. As councillors and representatives of the local people, they are able to table questions and discover the issues likely to impact the region. They are also involved in planning meetings and ensure the residents' feelings are made known. Such was the success of SOS at the Parish Council elections, the Committee is now considering putting forward a candidate for the main Council elections in May next year. With its strong mandate and overwhelming support, SOS is certain it can run a viable candidate and credible campaign. Taking the argument right into the heart of local politics is the one of the main ways, believes SOS, to get attention. A candidate will be chosen early in the New Year. Welcome SOS always welcomes newcomers and aims to meet at least every three weeks. If you have something to add, an expertise, or just commitment, please come along. The Committee is always in need of anyone with planning, legal experience, or other 'professional' disciplines. This need not mean coming regularly, or giving a commitment, but could entail providing some advice at a critical moment. Listening Post SOS also welcomes news, or rumours, about what is going on in the local community regarding development. Usually there is someone out there who knows something and a piece of information can help make the jigsaw complete. Next Meetings The next Committee meetings, held at Lindsey's Café, are all on
Wednesdays: 2 December, and 5 and 26 of January. Look Back Over Last 11 Months in Scissett and Clayton West January 12 October, 1999 STOP PRESS!!! Urgent Public Meeting Called - 18th October at Scissett Church 7.30pm A Second Planning Application has been submitted for Scissett! A public meeting is called to discuss these critical new developments. Be sure to come along for an update. Fate Hangs in The Balance Neil Camp The fate of Scissett still hangs in the balance. It is now some seven months since council planners first received the application to build a Safeways supermarket and 320 new houses on farming and recreational ground in the centre of Scissett. Yet, while we wait for a decision from the Council's Planning Sub-Committee, or even a date for the meeting at which the local politicians wiil decide the future of the supermarket development, Oakes Estates have launched a second application! The SOS Committee lodged their official objection to the first proposals months ago and over 2,000 letters from residents were written and delivered, showing massive public anger at the proposals. So why are we still waiting and why has there been a second application submitted? Come along to the public meeting to hear the full story.
No Nutty Slack Neil Camp Council planning officers have just recommended to their own planning councillors that Cobex Limited should not be allowed to open-cast mine the Litherop Lane site. Unfortunately the councillors have decided not to act upon the advice until they have visited the site itself. The final decision has therefore been delayed until the next meeting. The recommendation to say no was based on environmental concerns and the loss of footpaths. SOS has from the start fought against plans to extract the coal from the site and welcomes this latest news. 18 August, 1999 It appears the latest news is that the original planning application (supermarket and 320 new houses) is not down on the Agenda for consideration during the August 24th Planning Committee meeting! We'll keep you posted with developments as they unfold. 17 August, 1999 SOS Family Fun Day: Saturday 21 August The Save Our Scissett (SOS) action group, which continues to fight plans for a new supermarket and 320 homes on open land in Scissett and Clayton West, is holding a Family Fun Day on Saturday 21 August, 1999. Everyone is welcome and the event will be opened at 12 noon by the three SOS Independent Parish Councillors: Josie Hall, Iain Bowie, and Sharon Gaunt. Taking place on the Scissett recreation fields (behind the swimming baths), the Fun Day will have over 25 stalls including a disco, wet sponge stocks and face painting. There will also be ten staged events, including line dancing at 12:45pm and a Welly Wanging all-comers competition at 3:30pm. Mrs. Josie Hall, Parish Councillor, SOS Committee member and Fun Day Organiser, said: "The support for SOS is thriving. We are organising a number of these events not only to raise money for the cause and to update people as to the progress of our campaign against the developers, but also to give something back to all the people who have placed confidence in SOS. We were very encouraged by our small stall at the Emley Show last week which was one of the busiest throughout the day."
17 July, 1999 WE HAVE NOT WON YET!!Your support is still vital to our campaign. Although the Parish Council have voted against the proposed supermarket/housing complex, this does not mean we have won the battle. The people who make the final decision sit on the Kirklees Planning Sub-Committee (Heavy Woollen Division). The planning application for Scissett is likely to be heard at their meeting on the 24th August, 1999. If this committee votes against the planning proposal we are STILL not out of the woods as the developers are likely to appeal, although we would be in a far stronger position, fighting alongside Kirklees united against the developers' appeal. If the committee votes to accept the planning proposal, it then has to go to the Council’s full committee who are likely to just rubber-stamp their sub-committee’s decision. If this happens, because the planning proposal goes against the UDP, it has to go before the Secretary of State, and at this point it could go either way. With the government taking a disapproving view of these rural, out of proportion developments, he may decide against it. If the councillors ask for a site visit at the hearing, a date will be set for this visit and the hearing will be deferred for another month! If the councillors are minded to vote NO then the site visit will not be requested. NOW WE WAIT!!!
S.O.S Independent – The First Council Meeting by Sharon Gaunt It was with slight trepidation that we entered into the darkest depths of Skelmanthorpe council offices on Tuesday the 18th May for our inaugural Parish Council meeting. The trepidation was due to fear of the unknown - how would our fellow Parish Councillors feel about having 3 seats snatched from under their noses by a bunch of interfering ‘do-gooders’? Would we be snubbed and ignored? Would we be shot down? Would we be refused seats on the planning committee? Would we ever get out of there alive?! These fears proved to be groundless (thankfully) and within minutes of us getting into the Council Chambers we were introduced to members from both opposition parties, all of whom were friendly enough. The agenda for the meeting was huge, we thought we'd be there until midnight, but once it got going it rolled along quite smoothly. Most of the issues at this meeting were to re-elect various committees for the next 12 months: the main 2 being the Plans Scrutiny Committee and Finance and General Purpose Committee. Obviously with our interests being environmental we wanted to the maximum number of seats we could get on the Planning Committee. We ended up with both Josephine and myself being elected to Planning, and Iain being elected on to Finance. During the meeting the Parish Council voted unanimously to reject the COBEX open cast mining application for Clayton West. If anyone wants further information on the topics discussed at the meeting they can contact us at the numbers mentioned in this newsletter. It just remains for me to say a big thankyou to all those who supported us in the elections. The amount of public feeling amazed us all (2298 votes). The Parish Council and Kirklees will now realise that we are serious about stopping the developers from taking away our countryside, and that we are not going to go away (we are on the council for the next four years).
The S.O.S Newts letter by Ronnie Motram The great crested newts are just arriving back at the ponds to breed.
There are at least a dozen in one pond alone, mainly males awaiting the return of the females. We will be reporting this great news to English Nature, the Community Action for Wildlife (which is run by the British Trust for Conservation Volunteers), Dave Parker (the Denby Dale Countryside officer), plus, of course, Kirklees Council Planning Offices. We have also been asked to survey the rare water voles which have been seen in the area, as environmentalists hope to save the fat brown species and its habitat. This water vole is best known for its alias ‘Ratty’ from Wind in the Willows. We now have a young lady on board, Becky Simpson, who stepped forward at our last public meeting to help with our campaign. Becky has a Degree in Biology and will be leading our survey in conjunction with Ronnie Motram. The results of our current survey will be used to create a Kirklees Biodiversity Action Plan, involving many other bodies. Anyone who could lend their services or has information regarding voles please ring Ronnie on the number in this newsletter. Open Cast at Clayton West SOS are glad to add their support to the fight against the open cast mining currently being proposed for Wakefield Road, near Clayton West. This development will clearly have an adverse effect on our locality, due to the environmental impact and traffic problems caused by lorries visting the site. It is just one more example of how our quiet way of life is being intruded upon. As the site lies beyond Clayton West village there is a danger that the planning committee will receive few letters of objection and this will make it far easier for the developers to argue their case. The best way to voice your opinion is to write a letter to Mr Hamnet at the addess below. Call at any of our local shops to pick up a sample letter, and then return your letter to the shop and we will post it for you. Mr Hamnet, Kirklees Metropolitan Council, PO Box B93, Civic Centre, Huddersfield HD1 2JRPlease quote Reference 99/62/91079/EO
15 June, 1999 DENBY DALE PARISH COUNCIL Meeting between the Council and Cllr. Pearce (Chairman of Kirklees Planning), Mr. Keith Faragher, (Head of Planning Services) and Mr. Steve Hopwood (Senior Planning Officer) on Tuesday 8th June 1999. Cllr. Pearce started by giving an overview of planning procedures, and the roles and responsibilities of the various committees, sub-committees and Kirklees officers involved. The subject of the "large local issue on everyone’s mind" then arose! The three Kirklees representatives were asked whether, considering that Government guidelines on Planning Applications look for them to be appropriate to the area, they agreed that a development that might be appropriate to an area such as Garforth would be totally inappropriate for a small village such as Scissett. Mr. Faragher responded that it was not possible to prevent developers submitting planning applications but that all were considered on their respective merits, the above point being one of the factors taken into account. They reported that Mr. Melvyn Dulieu (effectively Mr. Oakes Estates) has already purchased half of the land in question from Savile Estates and confirmed that this was the land zoned for residential development in the UDP. This is the seven acres directly behind the existing swimming baths. Mr. Dulieu apparently has a 10-year option on the rest of the land, being the land that the UDP designates as Provisional Open Space. Mr. Dulieu has recently been in discussion with Mr. Faragher concerning a planning application for a housing-only development on this land that he owns. This application is expected to be received around the end of June and would involve around 180 houses and would give Safeway an option to build a smaller store on a two-and-a-half acre site. There are a number of points to note here:
Mr. Faragher then moved on to inform us that the original application was now unlikely to be considered until the August Planning meeting. It appears that some of the reports "were not thorough enough" and were considered to be "incomplete and in need of clarification". Furthermore, the Ecological Survey "was done in January when nothing was alive"! He said it would take 7-8 weeks to pull everything together so that it could be put to the Planning Committee. The question was then asked whether the recent Government review of the national housing forecast had been taken into consideration. Mr. Faragher said that the national forecast requirement for new houses had been revised downwards significantly. Kirklees, in turn, had revised their figures downwards. Cllr. Pearce said he believed that the areas already designated for building in Kirklees, plus ‘brownfield’ sites, would accommodate all their building requirements – so no extra land would be needed. He also confirmed that Kirklees were now using "Sequential Development Rules" – i.e. new developments must first consider brownfield sites in the core, urban, centres of the district before consideration was given to brownfield sites in the outlying areas. If that proved insufficient, then greenfield areas could be considered next – but again, starting at the edges of the core urban areas. Only after that could consideration be given to greenfield sites out in the country and village areas. Discussion then turned to the open-cast mining application next to Litherop Lane. Mr. Faragher agreed that Government guidelines on Mineral Extraction require that applications must contain an element of site improvement. It was generally agreed in the meeting that this application would have a tough task in showing how a perfectly acceptable site today could be improved by coal extraction and subsequent restoration. Mr. Faragher reported that the previous application for mining this site had been rejected and that there had only been a few local objections submitted into the process at that time. Believing that only one or two people live near by, the developers may well be feeling confident that a similarly small number of objections will be received this time too. Mr. Faragher gave it as his opinion that if the application were to be turned down this time, the developers may well appeal. Note here that, if they do appeal, they will use the fact of a small number of objections to support their case. It is important, therefore, that SOS campaigners get letters of complaint into the planning process as soon as possible. Objectors should stress the traffic issues concerning this appeal – i.e. the volumes of heavy lorry traffic, the danger to and from slow lorries attempting to turn right out of Litherop Lane (especially during the rush hours), and the potential danger from empty lorries coming down the hill from Bretton roundabout and needing to slow right down to turn left into Litherop Lane. Clearly the planners need to hear our views on this issue. Your Parish Council has put in its pennyworth by unanimously voting against the application but theirs is not the deciding voice. 18 May, 1999 PARISH COUNCIL ELECTION – SUCCESS! The people of Scissett, Clayton West and Skelmanthorpe gave a loud and clear message to both Kirklees Council and the developers: "We want to keep our green fields and don’t want to become Scissett New Town". SOS put forward five candidates at the Parish Council elections and received a total of 2,298 votes, sufficient to gain three seats. The remaining two seats were only missed by a small handful of votes. (Picture) The results were:
From nowhere and from a standing start, to achieve this result in less than three months is quite simply outstanding! Thank you for your support and for turning out to vote. We now have a voice and an ear (well, three actually!) on the Parish Council who can report back on any future planning developments. SOS is here to stay and won’t be going away, even when Safeway do! STOP PRESS – Tuesday 18th May 1999 At tonight’s Parish Council meeting, the first since the election, Josephine Hall and Sharon Gaunt were elected to serve on the Plans Scrutiny Committee, while Iain Bowie was elected to the Finance and General Purposes Committee. As promised, SOS is already pulling its weight on the Council, with a bias towards planning issues – naturally! Parish Council meetings are open to the public and can accommodate about 20 spectators. Although you cannot speak or take part in the proceedings, you can come along and hear what your elected Councillors are doing for you. Alternatively, information on meetings will be available in Clayton Village Stores, where Josephine is setting up a special noticeboard; and also on the Internet at: http://www.idbowie.demon.co.uk/sos.htm Finally, of course, you can call in at the Café, where Residents’ Meetings are held on alternate Wednesdays, starting at 6.30 p.m. Your SOS Councillors are there to represent YOU – feel free to give them your views on any Parish issue, as well as your support. |
