Wakefield Metropolitan District Council

<< Return to contents
PART ll VOLUME 3 Northern Area Proposals

The Strategy for the Northern Area
1.1 INTRODUCTION
1.1.1 Volume 1 of the Plan sets out the Development Strategy and Policies for the District and, together with the Reasoned Justification (Volume 2), gives a general background and justification for the policies and site specific proposals in the Plan. The Development Strategy section also explains the implications of Regional Planning Guidance for Yorkshire and the Humber for the Plan's strategy and policies.
1.1.2 Land use proposals for development in each Community Area over the Plan period are set out in detail in Volumes 3, 4 and 5 for the Northern, South East and Western Areas of Wakefield District respectively.
1.1.3 This volume (Volume 3) deals with the Northern Area which occupies the north-eastern portion of the Wakefield Metropolitan District and includes the main towns of Castleford, Normanton, Featherstone, Pontefract and Knottingley. These towns and their surrounding rural areas are the five Community Areas which are addressed in turn in the following 'chapters'. The Northern Area is flanked by the other two parts of Wakefield District to the west and south, by Leeds District to the north, and by Selby District in North Yorkshire to the north east.


1.2 REGENERATION
1.2.1 The five Community Areas of the Northern Area have experienced a dramatic restructuring of the local economy in recent years as a result of the rapid decline of coal mining and other traditional industries. This has led to higher than average levels of social and economic deprivation in many communities. The task of regeneration is urgent in these areas. Programmes of targeted action aimed at promoting sustainable economic growth and employment, improving accessibility and enhancing the environment are required to raise the attractiveness of these areas as places in which to live and work. Government and EU funding is available in several places to assist the process of regeneration.
1.2.2 Development proposals are aimed at capitalising upon the existing advantages of the Northern Area including easy access to the national highway network from many parts of the Area, the well developed comprehensive local facilities in the "Five Towns" centres, and good bus and rail services.


1.3 HOUSING
1.3.1 New residential development makes an important contribution to the regeneration of communities. Investment in residential development not only provides employment during construction but encourages people to move into and remain in the area.
1.3.2 The main aims of the housing strategy are to ensure a good choice of sites both in terms of type and geographical distribution between settlements, to concentrate development in existing urban areas and to balance new housing and employment provision. This will enable people to live close to existing and proposed sources of employment and local services. Substantial allocations were proposed in the original UDP at Normanton Golf Course, Normanton, Ackton Pastures, Castleford and Old Hall Farm, Pontefract. As these sites are being developed there is a need for limited further provision. New sites are proposed in the Review in the urban areas of Castleford, Pontefract and Knottingley on previously-developed land to cater for needs until 2006. In addition there is a major opportunity for development in the Wheldale / Fryston district of Castleford where housing can play a key role in helping to regenerate the area. However, the timing of this development is uncertain and may not be completed within the life of the Plan.


1.4 EMPLOYMENT
1.4.1 The Northern Area with the M62 motorway running through the centre and the A1 trunk road in the east is well placed to play an important role in any employment land strategy for the District.
1.4.2 The opening of the regional road-rail interchange has stimulated development at Wakefield Europort. Elsewhere, the former Glasshoughton colliery yard and coking works site is being reclaimed and redeveloped. The industrial allocation at Park Road, Pontefract has been developed partly for employment use and partly for retail but a substantial employment use site remains available. The major allocation in Featherstone, at Green Lane, is being developed following the opening of the access road.


1.5 TRANSPORT
1.5.1 The Northern Area already enjoys a high standard of accessibility at a number of levels. The M62 and A1 are national highway links and the main towns are inter-linked by Class I roads. The well-developed medium sized town centres and comprehensive bus services together provide excellent local accessibility to day-to-day services. Only Featherstone currently lacks direct access to the national highway network. Regional rail services linking Leeds with Sheffield call at stations at Normanton and Castleford and local rail services also connect Pontefract, Featherstone and Knottingley with Leeds and Wakefield. Access to Leeds City Centre, and to a lesser degree to Wakefield City Centre, has been of growing importance for people employed in the service sector.
1.5.2 The transport aspects of the development strategy are to be progressed through the Local Transport Plan (LTP) which includes strategies and a programme of measures for the improvement of accessibility by public transport, cycling and walking, and reducing congestion by increasing the use of these modes and managing demand for car travel. The Five Towns area is identified in the LTP (together with the South East) as a discrete area for targeting resources and action. Proposals for major new highways include sections of the South East Link Road within the Northern Area which would relieve Featherstone and the western side of Pontefract of the adverse effect of through traffic. In addition the Glasshoughton Coalfields Link is proposed to provide access to development land at Normanton Industrial Estate Extension. This scheme connects to the recently completed Normanton By-Pass and so provides access to the M62 at Junction 31. National funding for major highway schemes is unlikely to be available without significant proportions of expenditure being met from other sources.
1.5.3 The Government's 7 year trunk roads construction programme announced in July 1998 included the upgrading of the A1 to motorway standard from Ferrybridge to Hook Moor. It did not include proposals for the Redhouse to Ferrybridge section. This is one of a group of schemes where it is proposed that scaled down solutions be investigated. A route for the scheme is being safeguarded. (See CAS 67, KNT 12, PNT 13, ACK 6 and EMS 64). The Ferrybridge - Hook Moor section scheme includes a dual three lane motorway to the west of Ferrybridge and widening of the M62 to four lanes westwards to Junction 32. The existing dual carriageway road through Ferrybridge will be retained to cater for local traffic. The benefits to the District in terms of improved accessibility, the alleviation of congestion and improvements to safety will be significant. The road proposals could have implications for future potential development land.


1.6 ENVIRONMENT
1.6.1 The importance of raising the standard of the general environment is a key plank of regeneration policy. As well as raising the quality of life for residents, it is vital for the attraction of further industry and to assist existing businesses.
1.6.2 The importance of protecting the extensive Green Belt within the Northern Area continues to be emphasised and the `Green Corridor' concept is introduced. The Green Corridors will provide a context for focusing resources, both public and private, on developing the area's outdoor amenity and recreational opportunities. This includes the protection and enhancement of areas of wildlife and landscape interest as well as the expansion of opportunities for outdoor passive recreation.
1.6.3 Reclamation of derelict land to improve the environmental quality of the urban areas and the Green Belt alike features strongly in the Northern Area. Restoration and reclamation schemes should be implemented during the Plan period at the Wheldale, Fryston, and Glasshoughton sites, gradually removing the adverse environmental legacy of the extensive former coal mining areas.



Top Contents