Brighouse Garden Suburbs Plan Faces Scrutiny Over 3000 New Homes

Council members agreed on changes for housing near Brighouse. These changes affect two large housing projects, called garden communities. The council answered many questions about their choices and removed a rule about building two schools for Woodhouse and Thornhills areas. People also asked them about money and loans.

A council member said the homes help the town and she thinks they will bring in more tax money. This money will help pay for town services. The council lowered project costs by £12 million. The new total cost is now £40.1 million, resulting from not building the schools right now.

The council will build roads early in the project. They changed a tax on each house developers pay, which is lower because the schools are not built yet. The council will not raise this tax over time, and they can buy land if needed.

One resident said the changes are because plans were not working and stated developers won’t pay for the promised schools. He added that the public could lose out. Another council member worried about affordable housing because of tax plans.

Someone voiced concern about borrowing £7.4 million for the first seven years, as the projects should finish around 2040. A council member feared there would not be enough school places. Someone else countered by saying the projects do work financially.

Tariffs will stay the same over time, not increase. One person said home affordability is decided later. Money borrowed will come from house taxes after seven years and it could even make extra money later.

School numbers are down, another member said, predicting extra school places soon. The garden community needs fewer school spots at first, so building new schools now does not make sense. They will monitor school space needs over time and could make developers pay for schools if needed later.