Plans lodged for 260-home development

Plans have been lodged for a 260-home residential development in West Yorkshire.Banks Property has put forward proposals for a 27-acre scheme on land to the east of the B6273 Wakefield Road in Hemsworth, to the south east of Wakefield.The Hollins Bank development is set to comprise up to 260 homes of different sizes and types.The project, which is being brought forward in line with the Wakefield District Local Plan, would also include a network of new footpaths, wildlife habitats to encourage local biodiversity and an electric vehicle charging point installed at every new home.Public open space will be made available as part of the development, while routes to Vale Head Park and Hemsworth Water Park, which both sit to the north of the site, will be explored to improve access to these local leisure facilities.Enhancements to the parks, including new footpath routes, are also being explored, while improvements would be made to the Station Road/B6273 Hemsworth town centre junction as part of the project, with new road markings and signals put in place to improve its operation.Banks Property recently held two surgery events in Hemsworth to introduce its plans to the local community, with the feedback gathered at the events being taken into account in the planning submission.Kate Culverhouse, community relations manager at the Banks Group, said: “We’ve worked hard to share as much information as possible about this project across the local community and are very pleased to be reaching this stage of its development.”There is a clear and increasingly pressing need across the UK to increase the available supply of quality homes, including in this popular part of West Yorkshire, and our site’s proximity to schools, shops and other local services makes it a logical northern extension to the existing community.”We firmly believe that this is a wholly suitable location for the high-quality development that we’re proposing, and hope Wakefield Council’s planning committee will recognise its many merits when it comes to consider our planning application.”The planning application is expected to come before the council’s planning committee later this year.