A public meeting was held at Knottingley Town Hall on 16th May regarding the planning application to build houses in the quarry behind Womersley Road.

Councillor Burton, Planning and Highways Officers and myself attended. The residents present asked questions about the highways situation, as there is a proposal to narrow part of the highway on Womersley Road, they were also concerned about access and egress to and from the site.

Residents requested a further traffic study be carried out as they felt traffic flows were higher than the norm at different times than the perceived peak periods, concern was expressed about the railway crossing, use of Spawd Bone Lane, drainage and the inadequacy of the sewage system to cope with further development along with school capacity and the impact of Plasmor operating near the site.

There are objections to the application from English Nature and the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust as the site contains Great Crested Newts, birds of conservation concern, notable invertebrates, and has significant botanical interest.

We were told by planning officers that the earliest the application can be decided is 13th June.

The residents present are to arrange a further meeting in June nearer to the planning committee date when issues will have been clarified.