A DEVELOPER wants to build 120 new homes on the site of a listed mill.
But the proposal for the Bridgehouse Mill site in Haworth has prompted concern from some members of Haworth, Cross Roads and Stanbury Parish Council, who were shown the plans by planning consultant Jo Steel on Monday evening.
Mr Steel was acting on behalf of development firm Skipton Properties, which wants to build 77 houses and 43 one and two-bedroom retirement flats on the site off Bridgehouse Lane.
Skipton Properties has announced it will stage a public exhibition of its plans to develop both the Grade II listed Bridgehouse Mill and the land to the rear of the mill. It will be staged at the Old School Room, in Church Street, Haworth, between 3pm and 8pm on Monday, November 30.
Speaking during his presentation on Monday, Mr Steel said the scheme now being outlined by Skipton Properties would include a new base for the firm Wyedean Weaving on the same Bridgehouse Mill site.
But he also noted that the conversion of the mill itself would require an existing 1790s stone archway to be dismantled and rebuilt.
“This arch was built at a time of horses and carts,” he added. “Once rebuilt it will be four metres high instead of three metres. The casual observer would not notice the difference.”
Parish council vice chairman Councillor Angel Kershaw, who was acting chairman during Monday’s meeting, noted that she and her colleagues were not “casual observers” in this case.
She pointed out that the property is Grade II listed, emphasising that she has serious concerns about anything which would alter its structure.
“Haworth is a heritage area, not just somewhere which is nice and pretty to look at,” she said.
“We have a local economy based on its history and context which is valuable to the local area, and any development needs to take that into account.
“Bridgehouse Mill is an important landmark for the whole area, and if you’re going to change it that is a matter of concern.”
Planning committee chairman Cllr Alan Watts warned that if Bridgehouse Beck floods, as it has done previously, the planned houses would be inundated. “You’d need to build those houses on stilts,” he said.
Mr Steel countered that a flood risk assessment had been carried out, and that this had been seen and agreed to by the Environment Agency.
Speaking after the meeting he noted that as part of the same project, the southern most point of the site would feature a bank and a wetland area to further reduce any chance of flooding.
Also commenting after the meeting, Wyedean Weaving managing director Robin Wright said: “We want to stay in Haworth but we can’t stay in this building. We’ve outgrown it and it’s no longer appropriate for what we do.
“I’ve worked in this place for 40 years and we’ve only flooded once due to very unusual circumstances.”
He added that the archway was “unsafe”, and would be rebuilt to make it look the same as it does now.