Up to 230 homes at Land To South West Of Ellistones Lane, Greetland, Elland

What was proposed

The application sought outline permission to demolish a farmhouse and related buildings and build up to 230 homes, with only site access decided now.

“1500 - 01 25/00326/OUT Land To South West Of Ellistones Lane Greetland Elland Calderdale Outline planning application for the demolition of farmhouse and related buildings and construction of up to 230 dwellings and associated works with all matters reserved except for means of access into the site. Greetland…”

“Proposal: Outline planning application for the demolition of farmhouse and related buildings and construction of up to 230 dwellings and associated works with all matters reserved except for means of access into the site.”

Officer report

The site and its setting

The approximately 10.90-hectare site comprises two grazing-land parcels divided by Ellistones Lane, falling southwards towards Black Brook and allocated for housing.

“The western parcel is approximately 8.482 Hectares. It includes the property at New Gate Farm to the north-west of the parcel and an agricultural building within the southern portion of the land with access onto Ellistones Lane. This parcel is bounded to the west by Gate Head Lane and to the south by woodland adjacent to the Sia Fibral manufacturing premises. Ellistones Lane bounds it to the east.”

“A feature of the site is its topography. It falls in a southerly direction from Saddleworth Road down towards the bottom of the valley, delineated by Black Brook. The levels descend from approximately 132m AOD at the northwestern corner of the site to approximately 97m AOD in the south-western corner and to 101.5m AOD to the south- east. As a consequence, gradients across the site average at approximately 1:10 with gentler slopes towards the south-western boundary.”

Officer report

What officers recommended

Officers recommended permission subject to a legal agreement, finding the allocated site acceptable and concluding that its benefits would not be significantly outweighed by harm.

“Overall, taking all these matters into account, it is concluded that the adverse impacts of granting permission would not significantly and demonstrably outweigh the benefits of bringing the site forward to deliver housing. On that basis, the site is considered sustainable and in accordance with the NPPF, and the officer’s recommendation is that permission should be granted subject to the completion of a legal agreement for the matters set out above.”

“The proposal is considered to be acceptable subject to a Section 106 Legal Agreement covering the matters set out above and the conditions set out below. Subject to these, the recommendation of MINDFUL TO PERMIT SUBJECT TO THE COMPLETION OF A SECTION 106 LEGAL AGREEMENT has been made because the development is in accordance with the policies and proposals in the Calderdale Local Plan and National Planning Policy Framework set out in the sections above and there are no…”

Officer report

What consultees said

Highways, flood, water, education, ecology and other consultees raised no objections subject to conditions or legal obligations, while Environmental Health required mitigation.

“Lead Local Flood Authority (LLFA) – The application now provides sufficient evidence, alongside other submitted information for the LLFA to recommend the approval of flood risk and surface water drainage matters subject to the planning conditions.”

“Environmental Health (EH) – In February 2026, Environmental Health raised serious concerns about the potential noise and odour impact from the Sia Fibral premises to the south, concluding that if planning services were mindful to permit this, very strict conditions would be necessary, although this may not allay the potential of complaints to the Council.”

Officer report

What people objected to

Most representations objected to traffic, infrastructure, flooding, ecology, landscape, pollution, scale, countryside loss and the sustainability of the location.

“Concerns regarding the capacity of primary and secondary schools. Objector does not agree with the figures calculated by Education Services because the average number of children per family in the UK is 1.74. • Insufficient early years provision. • Concerns about the capacity of GP surgeries and dental services. Local NHS dentist practices are not accepting new patients. • Lack of community infrastructure • Existing facilities are already operating at full capacity.”

“Development within Green Belt and loss of agricultural land (NB The site is not within the Green Belt). • Loss of open countryside and rural character. • Harm to the visual amenity of the area. • Encroachment into an area valued for its landscape quality and openness.”

Officer report

Who spoke

The applicant’s representative confirmed that the relevant information about the declaration could not be verified with its human resources department.

The procedural concern

A concern was raised about whether the application declaration had been signed by an employee who had left the applicant’s agents before the stated signing date.

“The Chair advised that concerns had been raised by an objector regarding the validity of the declaration in the application form, specifically whether it had been signed by an employee who had left the applicant’s agents’ firm prior to the date the declaration was stated to have been signed.”

Minutes

The committee’s decision

The committee deferred the application to a future meeting so the applicant could resolve the procedural issue concerning the application form declaration.

“RESOLVED that the application be deferred to a future meeting of the Planning Committee to allow time for the Applicant to resolve the procedural issue with the declaration on the application form.”

Minutes