I have
strategic responsibilities for Planning, Transportation, Housing and
Regeneration. I share the brief for
Regeneration with Cllr Mather and the implementation aspects of Planning
Transport and Housing are fulfilled by other cabinet colleagues.
The region
is key as the major source of investment with regard to these functions and the
local plan is the basis of the Council’s strategy.
The approval
of the Plan in February was the culmination of a decade of seeking approval by
the Region, the council and the Government of a framework for developing
Kirklees for the next 15 years. It
sealed our intention of providing the land for housing, industry and commerce
and the basis for infrastructural support.
It stated our policies and objectives determining planning criteria and
priorities.
The most
prominent feature of the Plan was to build 31,000 houses, providing the
necessary variety of tenures and affordability across the Borough. At the same time it provided additional green
space in the urban area and although expanding into the greenbelt, it ensured
that 69% remained greenbelt, unthreatened by uncontrolled development. It provided sufficient, and in the short term
to meet industrial needs, spelled out the transport framework to support the
Plan. It took account of employment
needs in the borough and enabled sustainable movement for employment and other
activities within the region.
As
supplements to the Plan we are currently devising Area Action Plans for our two
major towns, plus additional supplementary guidance, for example on residential
design. The CIL mechanism to determine
charges regarding all major applications with reference to infrastructure
contributions is currently with the Inspector. Most recently we have strengthened our enforcement team and revised strategies for compliance. Now the focus is on delivery and without swamping Council with information I will give an update in the areas of transport, housing and town centre regeneration.
With regard
to Transport there are a range of schemes in the pipeline providing strategic
connections to and within our major towns and townships.
They include
key gateways:-
From the
south of Huddersfield to the town centre unlocking congestion points at
Lockwood Bar and Longroyd Bridge, the A629 Halifax Road, and Leeds Road gateway
from the north.
In North
Kirklees, major improvements are agreed for the A644 Mirfield to Dewsbury. Chidswell to the M62 and longer term the
North Kirklees orbital route will open access to M1 and M62 for the whole of
north Kirklees.
The Cooper
Bridge scheme now modified to disperse traffic at Kirklees’ most congested
pinch point, will also service proposals for housing at Bradley, ease pressure
on the A644 and minimise congestion at the confluence of A644 and A62.
Additionally
a major feature of all of these schemes is enhancement of cycling and walking
as well as greenery additions to absorb and counteract the impact of dense
traffic.
All of these
projects are in and approved at different stages of development as part of the
W Yorkshire Transport Fund and will be delivered in the next 5 years.
Within the 2
major towns improvements are proposed for pedestrians at Northgate Dewsbury and
on the route Station – Pioneer House to the Market. In Huddersfield we have already announced
major schemes for New Street and Cross Church Street, the main thoroughfares.
Meanwhile we
have bids in for improvements to Holmfirth and to improve pedestrian movements
between Huddersfield’s bus and train stations, a refurbishment of Dewsbury bus
station and a £10m multi-modal linked improvement from Bradford to Dewsbury mainly
impacting on Cleckheaton and Heckmondwyke.
These are Kirklees proposals as part of the W Yorkshire bid on the
Transforming Cities fund.
On the
housing front, annual delivery is at 1550 units pa and growing.
With regard
to our large sites, Ravensthorpe, Chidswell, Soothill and Bradley, we have planning
approvals at Soothill, Ravensthorpe, part of Bradley and one underway for
Chidswell. 6 extra care homes are
planned throughout the Borough including all the large sites.
On our large
sites particularly where we own the land we are working with developers to
ensure local people led by councillors, shape the features of what will be
future villages. They will ensure we
have a balance between affordable and other houses, and between different tenures
and will also be able to respond to community demands for schools, community
centres, sports facilities and so on.
We are
clearly in the early stages of delivering this programme but we are also
planning modular build with much higher energy efficiency standards and are
also aiming at construction in and with associated training in Kirklees.
There is
much more still to be determined so this is but a taste of the overall
programme. More details will be
forthcoming from my housing cabinet colleague at a subsequent meeting.
I will
conclude on the Blueprint for Huddersfield launch last June and the Masterplan
for Dewsbury which will be rolled out in February.
In both
towns we have based strategic revival around key themes i.e. footfall,
attractions to the town and connectivity.
Dewsbury Master plan
In Dewsbury
the anchor points will be a new Learning Centre and refurbished Pioneer
House. This is a massive investment in
the future of Dewsbury youth creating its own additional footfall to promote
trade. Trade attraction and improvement
are the reasons for an additional refurbishment of the market. To these anchor points we have improved the
entrance to the station. We have also
developed schemes to enhance and improve pedestrian access for the rail station
to the market via Pioneer House. We are
using Heritage funds to improve other key buildings such as the Black
Bull. We are also working with business
and private sector to bring Field House and the major arcades back into use.
This is all
supported with public realm improvements to street furniture, the creation of
green spaces which give the place an ambience which will attract additional
visitors and further investment. The Transpennine
upgrade will make the town even more attractive providing regular access to
Leeds in less than 10 minutes.
The Blueprint
for Huddersfield was launched last June, a £250m investment plan over 10 years to refocus and refurbish the
town against a backcloth of towns nationally declining as a result of
competition from both internet and out of town shopping.
In
Huddersfield we are targeting our main investment in the centre of the town.
It is
intended to create a central cultural attraction based around a refurbished
library, art gallery, museum and a new music centre all within the Piazza. It opens up that area and provides a link
between the town’s other great assets, the University and train station. It will create a cultural focus to attract
visitors and at the same time uplift the main thoroughfares within the town.
The initial
evidence of this will be the Council’s investments in New Street and Cross
Church Street currently out for public consultation.
The main
features of these investments will be to provide a greener more attractive
footway and carriageway which will be adaptive to street pop up markets, fairs
and other activities,. We are also
investing in more living in the town which will add vibrancy and further
footfall. The council has worked with a
developer to bring the Co-op Building back into use for housing. It has also supplied loan facilities, for an
upgrade of Kingsgate which will include a new cinema.
In the
immediate future, the public will see a major upgrade of the Piazza, breaking
through what feels like a barrier between the town and university, linking to
the Lawrence Batley Theatre, enabling us to provide a green back cloth to the
main features of gallery, museum and music centre.
Although the
shopping offering in the town will diminish the refocus of the town as a leisure
attraction, it will change the character of shopping to the more bespoke,
boutique and specialist offering not available online.
The other
end of the town will see a refurbished open and closed market and a rail station
transformed in part by Transpennine upgrade and in part by the council and West
Yorkshire Investment, which will provide access to the back and also provide an
alternative entrance.
In
Huddersfield as in Dewsbury the fundamental transport upgrade makes both towns
very attractive for housing and other development as our towns provide such
easy access to the metropolises of Leeds and Manchester. The council is thus putting its main
investment in its major towns which have such exciting futures.
This is
phase 1 in the move from austerity and the scope will widen next year to say
more about investment in other towns and townships to provide the same impetus
on a proportionate scale. These plans at
this stage are not advanced but we will discuss and work with councillors in
other localities to plan improvements which will make all our areas more
sustainable and attractive.
