Todmorden News

Calderdale MBC Planning Committee Reject Garden Street Plans

Last night’s special meeting of Calderdale MBC Planning Committee saw the refusal of permission for the proposed redevelopment of Garden Street car park in Hebden Bridge. Despite a clear-cut recommendation by planning officers, the committee voted five to two in favour of rejecting the scheme at an unusually well attended meeting in Halifax.

An estimated two hundred people made their way to Halifax from Hebden Bridge on a wet Monday evening, to attend the meeting that would decide the fate of a scheme which has not only sparked local controversy, but has also seen death threats and vandalism as well as attracting national media attention and debate amongst the architectural community.

It has been suggested by some that several false claims made about the scheme by the Garden Street action group, sought to willfully distort it’s public perception and have therefore unfairly influenced the planning process.

However, the story of these so-called ‘wonky homes’ may not yet be over. It is understood that the developers of the scheme, Hebden Royd Development LLP, may well appeal the decision in a last ditch attempt to realise a project which they firmly believe will greatly benefit the town.