Approval for housing on fireworks factory site

Updated plans to build hundreds of new homes on the site of a West Yorkshire fireworks factory have been given the go-ahead.Empire Knight Group submitted an outline planning application to Kirklees Council last year for development on land off Blackmoorfoot Road and Felks Stile Road in Huddersfield.The site includes the Black Cat Fireworks Factory, with manufacturing operations dating back to 1910. The site is allocated for housing in the Kirklees Local plan.The plans cover a development of 770 new homes, including up to 70 care apartments. Affordable homes would makes up about 20 per cent of the properties.The plans also include provision for a doctor’s surgery and 5,400 sq ft commercial unit suitable for a range of uses.The application was approved, subject to conditions, at a meeting of the council’s Strategic Planning Committee yesterday (1 July 2021). A decision had been deferred at a meeting in April to assess the impact of the development on highways and schools in the area.The decision to approve was in line with the recommendation of a planning officer’s report considered by committee members.A previous application for the site, comprising up to 630 homes and 70 care apartments, was refused planning permission in 2019 due to concerns over viability and density.