Wakefield Metropolitan District Council

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PART II VOLUME 5 Western Area Proposals

The Strategy for the Western 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 in 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 which relate to Northern, South East and Western Wakefield respectively.
1.1.3 This Volume (Volume 5) deals with the Western Area which occupies the western half of the District based around the District's main centre of Wakefield. There are five Community Areas in the Western Area. The first is North Wakefield and Stanley, which includes the City north of the river together with Outwood and Stanley communities; Ossett and Horbury together form a second Community Area and the combined villages of Walton, Crofton and Sharlston and surrounding area a third. South and East Wakefield is composed of the City south of the river and Wakefield Rural covers the rural villages and surrounding areas in the south of the Area.


1.2 REGENERATION
1.2.1 The impact of economic change, particularly as a result of the rapid decline of coal mining, has been particularly pronounced in the eastern half of the District. However, some areas in the west also exhibit higher than average levels of social and economic deprivation. Unemployment in Wakefield East and Central wards is the highest in the District whilst the community of Sharlston has suffered following the closure of the colliery. The need for regeneration is as urgent in these areas as in other parts of the district, reflected in the availability of Government and EU funding. Proposals to regenerate the Wakefield Waterfront are included in the Plan.


1.3 HOUSING
1.3.1 Whilst acknowledging the ongoing demand for residential development in the Western Area, the Council has taken the view that continuing to encourage major areas of new development such as that which has occurred within recent years in Stanley and North Wakefield would harm rather than contribute to the quality of life in the Western Area. It could also encourage an inflow of migrants from other Districts who often have lengthy work journeys to other areas of the Region, and may well divert demand from other parts of the District where retention of the existing population and the addition of new residents would provide much greater assistance in regenerating the areas most in need. Substantial population growth will also unnecessarily contribute to further road traffic onto that part of the District's highway network around the centre of Wakefield, which is the most, congested.
1.3.2 The residential strategy in the Western Area, therefore, aims to cater for the needs of the area without encouraging additional in-migration. Most of the allocations in the original Plan have now been developed, the main outstanding one being at Newton Hill, Wakefield and the Special Policy Area at Stanley Royd Hospital. Additional housing allocations are proposed on previously developed land within the urban areas with the intention of ensuring a good choice of sites both in terms of type and geographical distribution between settlements. New housing is proposed as part of the Wakefield Waterfront development.


1.4 EMPLOYMENT
1.4.1 The aim of the employment land strategy in the Western Area is two fold. Firstly, to cater for the need for new jobs for the residents of the area, particularly in places with above average levels of unemployment and other forms of deprivation, where the need for economic regeneration is acute.
1.4.2 The second aim is to utilise the attributes of the Area, which are particularly attractive to the business sector of industry to widen the range of employment opportunities for residents throughout the District.
1.4.3 New sites to satisfy the local need for new employment uses are extremely difficult to find in the Western Area, particularly with good access for both the workforce and the distribution of freight. To address the problem, 5 sites in Wakefield City have been identified where there is a need for investment to help bring land forward for redevelopment. Together they comprise the Wakefield Strategic Sites portfolio, which has attracted ERDF Objective 2 funding. The sites are Wakefield Waterfront Core Area and Skillcentre; Calder Island, Denby Dale Road; the former Greyhound Stadium, Denby Dale Road; and the former Power Station site off Doncaster Road. Development progress is overseen by the Wakefield Strategic Sites Partnership. Opportunities also exist to provide new employment uses on major sites at Junctions 39 and 40 of the M1 and at Snowhill.
1.4.4 A unique proposal is made at Junction 39 of the M1 in the form of a Special Policy Area. The Special Policy Area aims to secure a high quality business park close to the motorway junction combined with outdoor leisure activities and extensive public open space opening up the river corridor. The business park will be low density in a well-landscaped setting, which would undoubtedly compete with the prestigious developments in the south. There are few, if any better sites for this type of development in West Yorkshire and a park of this nature would undoubtedly help the District as a whole to attain a greater share of growing service industry employment.


1.5 WAKEFIELD CITY CENTRE
1.5.1 The city centre of Wakefield is the major centre of the District and justifies special attention within the Plan. Its primary role is that of a shopping centre which provides a broad range of retail facilities which, to be sustained, have to compete with neighbouring centres such as Leeds, Barnsley, Doncaster and, most recently, Meadowhall and White Rose.
1.5.2 It is vital that the centre remains accessible to all shoppers whether car-borne or public transport users. The Plan has laid down a framework for the centre, making limited but important proposals for removing the last of the general through traffic from the retailing core whilst preserving the maximum access for public transport users. The potential for redevelopment for retailing purposes in certain parts of the centre is acknowledged which will also include new bus station facilities.


1.6 ENVIRONMENT
1.6.1 The Western Area already enjoys a standard of environment which in many areas is exceptionally high. Conservation features highly in both rural and urban areas. The importance of extensive areas of Green Belt is re-emphasised and the area offers many opportunities to develop the Green Corridor concept of the Plan. The concept is designed to provide a context to focus resources - both public and private - to develop the Area's outdoor amenity and recreational resource. Wakefield also contains very significant urban Conservation Areas, which are fully recognised and respected, for example, within the Wakefield City Centre proposals.



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