The government has asked every council to tell them how they would make more space available for housing and businesses over the next 15 years or so. Kirklees has been asked to find space to enable 37000 new homes to be provided between 2004 and 2026. Based on government advice we also need to provide about 250 hectares of land for jobs.

Our new plans will govern how planning applications and proposed developments are treated. This is particularly important for us all because the type of policies we adopt now will affect the district's ability to grow and thrive in the future.

On 23rd February 2009, we published our plans for comment which describe 4 different options for making land across the district available for houses and businesses:

• view the summary leaflet which describes the options (PDF: 2.26 MB)

If you would like to read the full consultation document and supporting information:

• view the full consultation document
• view Sustainability Appraisal non technical summary (PDF: 5 KB)
• view Sustainability Appraisal (PDF: 2.62 MB)

The consultation on these plans closed on the 17th April

More than 2,800 people contributed responses by email, letter and comments cards during the consultation on the Core Strategy for Kirklees and the council is considering the next steps.

The core strategy sets out how new development can be accommodated up to 2026 in four potential options:

• Option 1 concentrated new development in and around Huddersfield and Dewsbury and Batley.
• Option 2 linked new development to the main Huddersfield - Leeds transport routes between north-east Huddersfield and Birstall.
• Option 3 made provision for some of the new development in the south of the Kirklees, particularly around Honley and Skelmanthorpe.
• Option 4 proposed a broadly similar distribution to option 1 but avoided use of floodplain in Dewsbury for housing and made greater provision for new employment in south Kirklees.

The consultation ran from February until April and also included the views of focus groups and local area committees. The council also commissioned an independent charitable organisation called Planning Aid to work with BME groups, disabled people, young people and older people to identify their views and encourage them to make their own comments.

The council now wants to look carefully at what people have said, and to make sure that these are reflected in the core strategy. The issues of concern include the possible use of green belt, and the need to reflect relevant matters in the Regional Spatial Strategy. More work is therefore required on longer term development needs and the setting of a longer term green belt boundary. Further work is also needed on flood risk for the South Dewsbury eco-settlement proposed in options 1, 2 and 3. The need for greater consideration means that the council will not be asked to make a formal decision on the core strategy in October and instead councillors will decide what steps to take when the extra work has been completed.

Cllr Kath Pinnock, Deputy Leader of the Council, said: "It is likely to be early next year before we are in a position to make a decision on our next steps. As soon as we decide, we will make a public announcement and contact all the people who have specifically asked us to be kept informed of progress. At the moment it seems unlikely that there will be a formal decision on a preferred option before summer 2010."

Cllr Mehboob Khan, Leader of the Council, added: "I would like to thank the public for sending their comments. We are listening and taking note of the concerns that have been raised. The options consulted on were inherited from the previous administration and there have been legitimate concerns about them. Ensuring the long term sustainability of the green belt and dealing with the previous administration’s plans to build in the flood plain will require us to go back to the drawing board. The responsibility to meet the demand for land for housing and job creation falls on all councillors and MPs. This extended timescale is an opportunity to build cross-party consensus on this very serious issue."

You can find more detailed information on the local development framework at www.kirklees.gov.uk/ldf