Calderdale planning application: Bid to build 10 new homes in Elland rejected because they are too near Overgate Hospice

Calderdale Council planning officers had recommended planning councillors be mindful to permit RYMH Ltd’s bid to build the homes on land next to Bryan Road, subject to a legal agreement which would provide around £84,000 to meet education, open space and biodoversity needs in the borough.

But one of the neighbours is Overgate Hospice and councillors felt the proposals would overdevelop the site in a sensitive location.

Coun Paul Bellenger (Lib Dem, Greetland and Stainland) said people approaching the final days of their lives in the hospice appreciated peace and tranquillity there at that time.

“I think it is overdevelopment in an area that should be retained for its openness and tranquility for the people who are in the last days of their life in Overgate Hospice,” he said.

Coun Bellenger said 10 family homes with potential for a number of children, as well as the construction phase, would likely reduce the quality of life for people at the hospice.

That was not to say a smaller development might not meet approval. “The land lends itself to some development but not on this scale,” said Coun Bellenger.

The council’s planning committee voted to refuse permission for the homes citing policy which relates to privacy and amenity.

An agent for the company had said of three proposals for the site - including a 40-apartment plan and a higher density homes plan - the 10-home proposal had been the most welcomed.

The company had meetings directly with the hospice, changes had been made to a plot to mitigate concerns and they had welcomed the amendments.

Disruption through construction would also be minimised and the hospice would be involved in conversations, said the agent.

Councillors heard around 20 objections to the plans had been received

Objectors told councillors they were not “NIMBYs” but it was the size of the proposed homes that was concerning them.

Some of those planned were three-storey homes of which there were few in the area, said one.

Another said the plans represented high density development unacceptable in a low density area.