MORE than 50 parents and children from a primary school protested about plans for a former waste water treatment site.

Today's protest, by families of Woodlands Primary School in Oakenshaw, centred on worries about extra traffic through the village if proposals to turn the North Bierley site into a business park, with 100 new houses, are approved.

Victoria McCabe, whose five-year-old son Rowan attends the primary school, said the protest was against the impact the development would have on the area and the danger it could pose to residents and children.

“This is only a small village and the increase in traffic, congestion and pollution would be huge. We already have the M606 nearby. The children today made placards and we walked up the road to St Andrew’s church where a lorry overturned last week to encourage people to slow down,” she said.

“Only today there was chaos when a lorry got stuck turning round in Cleckheaton Road and needed a police presence.

“There is also the question of which school the children from these new homes will go to.”

Keyland Developments Ltd, a sister company to Yorkshire Water, submitted the outline plans to Kirklees council earlier this week.

On its website it states it has been regenerating Yorkshire Water’s redundant sites for 20 years. Managing director Peter Garrett states: “There are a significant number of strategic sites across the Yorkshire region that haven’t fulfilled their potential, often due to the complexities of the planning system, title issues, or problems with access or ground conditions, which can all create barriers to development.

“Many of the region’s local authorities are facing severe long-term housing shortages as supply is simply not meeting the growing demand.

Keyland Developments, the property trading arm of Kelda Group, had originally thought to turn the site into a 57-acre business and industrial complex with 500,000 sq ft of space for mixed employment and a potential for 1,000 jobs.

Woodlands Primary School head teacher Karen Webster said: “Although I am not opposed to the development of the water treatment works site, I am concerned that the only route in and out of there is via Mill Carr Hill Road and a proposed small roundabout next to the school perimeter fencing.

“The increase in heavy goods vehicles and people travelling to and from work, will make what are now quite quiet roads suddenly busy roads.

“The majority of our pupils walk to school and the increased traffic at the junction and so close to school, I feel may jeopardise their safety.”