CONFUSION surrounds the number of homes earmarked for a proposed housing development on fields bordering the M62 at Cleckheaton.

Planning documents indicate that the 11-acre (4.5 hectare) parcel of land off Whitechapel Road can accommodate up to 170 dwellings. Staff with developer Barratt say they are considering 166 houses.

Yet local people say the planning inspector recommended just 122 homes.

They believe that the land’s proximity to the motorway makes it inappropriate for housing and potentially leaves new owners susceptible to poor air quality caused by traffic pollution.

Val Dickinson, who has lived in the area for 25 years, says a public meeting at Cleckheaton Town Hall was attended by Barratt staff.

“They were a bit unhelpful. A plan on the table was for 166 houses but the planning inspector recommended 122 houses.

“I asked if it was fiction. They said they were going for the higher number and that it was going to planning.

“The traffic in this area is already horrendous but we can expect more with another 100-plus homes. Maybe double the number of cars. They are all going to come onto Whitechapel Road via a new access road.

“We are unsure  just what is going to be built and this is very unsettling.”

She added that in the construction consultation in the town hall “no-one seemed to be clear” about the financial contribution to local schools and facilities.

Other residents say the managed motorway system and the Chain Bar roundabout “will condemn families to generations of ever-increasing traffic fumes and noise” with rising levels of air and sound pollution.

One said: “The impact that any extra housing is going to have on the roads, schools, doctors and hospitals is obvious to anyone in Cleckheaton and it is to be hoped that Kirklees Council can address these issues.”

Spen Valley Civic Society added its concerns about the deliverability of the scheme. It said: “Nowhere else on this exceptionally busy section of the M62 does housing development come right up to the motorway banking.”

In a letter to Kirklees Council planning consultant Iain Bath, acting for the site’s owners, said the land at Whitechapel Road was an important component in assisting the council in meeting its housing obligations within Batley and Spen.

Kirklees Council aims to build more than 31,000 homes.

Many will have to be built within the greenbelt as there is insufficient non-greenbelt land in the borough.

The Local Plan – a massive planning blueprint – is an order from the Government and has been signed off by Government Planning Inspector Katie Child.

It is expected to be adopted at an extraordinary meeting of Kirklees Council on February 27.