We are disappointed to share that the High Court legal challenge to the Calderdale Local Plan was unsuccessful.

The permission to proceed to a full hearing of our legal challenge was granted because a Deputy High Court Judge agreed that ‘the Inspector didn’t adequately grapple with critical concerns around the Calderdale Strategic Transport Model (CSTM), instead adopting the Council’s case in this respect.’ However, the judgment handed down found no legal inadequacy for the Planning Inspector’s reasons.

 The judgment is concerned purely with the adequacy of the Inspector’s reasoning and does not vindicate or endorse Calderdale’s Transport Model. It remains our position that the Transport Model is not fit for the purpose of showing the actual impacts of the development allocations included within the Calderdale Local Plan, as it underplays levels of highway congestion.  Every planning application that comes forward will still need to demonstrate that it does not result in a severe impact on the highway network, and we believe this test will not be satisfied.  

 We have not yet had the opportunity to review the findings and comment in detail. The Forum and the wider Calderdale Together community will meet soon to discuss the findings, outstanding costs, and potential outcomes. We have now closed our CrowdJustice funding page, and further updates will be via our website, cliftonforum.org.uk.

At this stage, we want to express our deepest gratitude to all the people who have steadfastly supported our legal action and our professional team for their diligent work. 

Once again, thank you for your support.

Clifton Neighbourhood Forum Team

Dear supporter,

Firstly, thank you to everyone who has supported our legal action. 

On August 25, 2023, Deputy High Court Judge Karen Ridge granted permission to the Clifton Neighbourhood Forum's request to challenge Calderdale Council's Local Plan. This decision came after Calderdale Metropolitan Borough Council and the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing, and Communities both argued that the request should be denied.

Our request focused on three main issues, the first of which was that there are significant errors in the Calderdale Strategic Transport Model (CTSM).

The model is crucial to the Local Plan as it underpins the Council’s entire assessment of the impacts of, and therefore mitigations needed, for the development allocations it proposes. Its inaccuracies mean it substantially underestimates existing and future traffic levels and is not robust.

The Judge ordered that the claim has permission to proceed to a full hearing because it is arguable that the Inspector’s Report does not adequately grapple with critical concerns around the CSTM.

A spokesperson for the Forum stated, "From the beginning, we believed that Calderdale ignored essential transport evidence. We participated in the process, brought in independent transport experts, and presented evidence explaining that despite what the flawed CSTM suggested, the reality of the transport and traffic situation is that the Calderdale highway and transport network cannot cope with the Local Plan proposals."

One piece of evidence presented during the Local Plan Examination Hearings, which is entirely consistent with the Forum’s case, was a report from the West Yorkshire Combined Authority (WYCA), which deemed a new £629,000 transport model necessary for Calderdale because the current CSTM "would not stand up to scrutiny in a public inquiry."

It is thanks to dedicated volunteers and generous donations we’ve been able to do this. Every single pound donated from across Calderdale counts.

We have now increased our appeal target to fund our day in the High Court - we'll publish further updates here and on social media over the coming months.

We are proud to be part of a broad Borough-wide community standing up for what’s right. Thank you for being so supportive - it is appreciated!

Kind regards

The Clifton Neighbourhood Forum team

The Clifton Neighbourhood Forum team thanks everyone who has donated towards the legal claim for a hearing to have the Calderdale Local Plan overturned.

On day two of launching this appeal, the £5,000 reserve target was exceeded. By day seven, donations topped £10,000, halfway towards the £20,000 stretched target.

Every pound donated here directly funds the legal action; we know this is a challenging time for people, and we are grateful for any donation. If you can support by donating and sharing this campaign, you'll be helping our campaign to have the Calderdale Local Plan overturned. 

It takes courage to challenge the choices made by those in power, and it is thanks to the generosity of people across the borough and the earlier work completed by the Forum this action is possible.

You can find out more about the legal action on our website https://cliftonforum.org.uk/legal-action/