Local Plan: Furious villagers getting ready to take Calderdale Council to court over controversial pledge for thousands of new homes

Members of Clifton Neighbourhood Forum have voted in favour of seeking a judicial review in the High Court over the council’s approval of the Local Plan.

Their next step will be to launch an online fundraiser to try to raise the thousands of pounds that would be needed to fight their case.

Of the 203 members of the forum eligible to vote, 202 voted in favour of the idea.

Most of Calderdale’s borough councillors voted in favour of the Local Plan last month, despite opposition from some angry residents.

The blueprint for the borough includes around 10,000 new homes, mostly in and around Brighouse, Rastrick, Greetland, Hipperholme, Northowram and Shelf.

Calder Valley MP Craig Whittaker had called on people to join the Local Plan protest and sign a petition against its adoption.

The Conservative politician said: “I am not against building new homes. The Conservative Group on Calderdale Council and I have been very clear about that. We recognise more homes are needed in Calderdale.

"But what is incredibly important is the infrastructure - roads, GP surgeries, schools, even the sewage and drainage systems.

"We cannot support such large quantities of new houses in a concentrated area of the borough that already suffers from horrendous traffic congestion, poor air quality and is prone to flooding without that vital infrastructure.”

Calderdale Councillor Josh Fenton-Glynn (Lab, Calder) said: “In voting for it, I thought of my friends who can’t start a family because they’re sofa surfing and families in damp and unsafe homes.”