About Us
Our objective is to form an action group that can lobby Kirklees Council and any other bodies, both to protect the interests of the community and to obtain action, on issues where individuals might be ignored.
The Phoney War Is Over!
We now know the policy of the new government '40,000 new houses in Kirklees by 2021' and that's official! See Clr Robert Light's front page statement in the Examiner on 25th July 2007.If the infamous option E was implemented the 13,000 houses originally planned would now be 26,000, or if A was seen to be the minimum solution this would now be 17,000 for our area (4,000 more houses than the original E option!)
We all, therefore, have to be ready to fight. Your SCAG Committee has already planned for this contingency, but it will take time and money, and we, therefore, have to build up our fighting fund, and coordinate our effort.
We have so far with your help funded the news letter and website. However, the new situation will require a high profile campaign, and this can be best be funded by a further series of social events, which have the advantage of allowing us to meet together and discuss our progress, and immediate, strategy and plans.
How Will This Affect Us?
Such large-scale development threatens not only the local environment, but the quality of life of the people who live in the village. You may think that housing construction has no impact on yourself, but we ask you to consider the following issues:- The current development on Station Road is larger than any previous development in the village with over 90 houses being constructed. It is likely more large developments will follow. It is certainly possible that Skelmanthorpe could grow by 30% or more over the next few years.
- Most people today have at least one car and many households have two or more. The impact on our already busy roads will be considerable. Station Road is already congested, and the junction with Commercial Road is already hazardous, even before the traffic generated by the new development adds to the problem.
- Parking is already an issue in the village, and the Council has rejected pleas for further off road parking. The impact of even more residents seeking to park their cars when shopping will be considerable.
- The demand for medical and dental care will grow placing the existing resources under greater strain. The demand for parking at the surgery will also increase.
- Demand for school places will also grow, as will the number of parents transporting their children to and from school each day.
- Skelmanthorpe has few recreational areas for children to play in, so where will the additional children go for sports and recreational activities?
Large-scale housing developments have far reaching consequences that the Council seems to ignore when granting planning consent to large-scale developers. The impact on us all will be considerable.
We believe that a well-supported action group is the best vehicle to ensure our voice is heard by those who represent us at local government level.
So please join our group; we need your help and support. It is possible to influence Kirklees Council if we have the support of all the people in the community.
Email enquiries: enquiries@skelmanthorpeaction.org.uk