Planning Committee 3
Planning Committee 3
In 1977 a bigger challenge arose. In 1971 when the Plan for Wilsden was drawn up, there was a shortage of slightly larger than average detached houses. An area of land to the west of Main Street was thought to be suitable for a small number of these. The site had four possible access routes, Main Spring Road, Townfield and two exits on to Main Street, one by Spring Farm and one through the site of the Mechanics, which seemed likely to be demolished. By 1977, possible routes were reduced to one. The Mechanics had been renovated, the village hall had been built on Townfield and planning permission was refused for an exit at Spring Farm. The potential developer had applied for planning permission for 70, then increased to 90 houses. A small development with several access points had become a large one with access only into Main Spring Road, a narrow, steep, north facing road which led into Main Street at a point with difficult sight lines. Main Spring residents were horrified at the prospect of the traffic from such a development all coming through their quiet cul de sac. Bradford Council opposed the plan but large national firms of builders do not give up easily. They withdrew their application but promptly submitted another. Bradford turned it down and the builder appealled to the Minister. A week long public enquiry ensued. By this time WVS had some experience of Local Government and planning matters and they had money they were prepared to spend.
They engaged lawyers, road engineers and planning consultants. Residents of Main Spring Road welcomed the help and agreed to contribute to the cost of approximately £1000. The chairman of the WVS Planning Committee, Ian Kirkbride, and Dr Verner Wheelock took leave from their own jobs to attend the whole week of the enquiry, while many other Wilsden people came to put their individual points. One of the valuable objections was the fact that the development would have meant demolition of a listed structure. How fortunate that WVS had obtained listed status for the historic walled and paved footpath between Wilsden Hill and Main Street, created as a route for workers in the early days of the textile industry.
On this occasion the plan was turned down and local wishes prevailed, but Society members knew they would need to remain watchful and be prepared for other battles, though perhaps not on such a scale.
In October 1978 Wilsden faced a different problem. Drivers from the West Yorkshire Road Car Company refused to drive on a 150 yard stretch of the main road near Sandy Banks Garden Centre. They claimed that the road was too narrow for two large vehicles to pass safely and the surface so bad that braking was likely to lead to skidding. They cited several near misses, and as if to back up their claim, a large lorry demolished a wall in that exact area only hours after the refusal was announced. A spokesman for the County Highways Department said that skid tests had been done on the disputed stretch, showing that the quality of the road surface was above that required by the Department of the Environment and that they would not be re-surfacing it. The village society’s role was not to take sides in the dispute or to challenge expert opinions, but to urge a solution to a situation that was causing great difficulty for many people. The planning committee put on a public meeting in the village hall, giving people a forum to express their views and decide on any action. The meeting agreed that independent engineers should be consulted and in addition a small group of people quickly organised a petition of over 1300 names calling for resurfacing so that the service could be resumed as quickly as possible. Hugh Murray handed the petition to local MP Marcus Fox, to be given by him to Mr William Rogers, the Minister for Transport. A copy also went to Councillor Batty, Bingley’s representative on the County Council. Two weeks after the start of the ban, WVS received a letter from the County director of administration repeating that the cost of resurfacing could not be justified and saying that a cheaper form of surface dressing could not be carried out at that time of year. He did however agree that there would be another inspection with specialist contractors and if a new method would be appropriate, work could start next day. The bus service resumed on Nov 8th but there was a second lightning strike when some of the drivers claimed the road was no better. At a meeting of 50 drivers in Bradford, driver Derek Royston persuaded all but two of his colleagues to vote to drive the route. The district superintendent of the bus company said the people of Wilsden should be grateful to Mr Royston and the good sense of the drivers, but warned this did not mean the road was 100% safe. Verner Wheelock, chairman of WVS, said it was good to know that common sense had prevailed. There would be many occasions over the years when the village society would be able to set up a meeting at which local needs could be raised and acted on.
This is an appropriate point at which to look at the achievements of the Transport Committee before its merger with the Planning Committee.
