Kirklees Local Plan: four weeks to shape future growth

Kirklees residents, businesses and local organisations have until Friday 11 September to influence the priorities behind the district’s next Local Plan. The free public consultation opened on Thursday 13 August and is available online through the Kirklees Council website.

This is the first stage under the new plan-making system. It focuses on the issues the plan should address and how the council should engage communities—not on selecting individual development sites, which will be considered later.

Four weeks to influence the plan’s priorities

A Local Plan governs how land across Kirklees is used and where development should take place. It informs decisions about homes, employment, transport, community facilities and the management of both the built and natural environment.

During this consultation, participants can identify the local issues and priorities they believe the new plan should cover. They can also comment on how Kirklees Council should work with communities as the plan develops.

The responses will help shape the next draft, including proposed planning policies and options for future development. That makes this opening stage a chance to influence the framework before detailed locations and policies are presented.

Councillor John Hardie, Cabinet Member for Regeneration, Highways and Transport, said the plan would affect where homes, jobs, infrastructure and green spaces could be provided over the coming years. He encouraged people who live, work or invest in Kirklees to submit their views before the consultation closes.

Higher housing requirements bring wider choices into focus

Kirklees adopted its current Local Plan in 2019. The replacement is being prepared to align with the Government’s new plan-making system introduced in March 2026.

National planning policy changes mean the district must now plan for more homes. The existing Local Plan has a target of 1,730 new homes a year, while Kirklees is currently required to provide 1,917 annually. That is an increase of 187 homes per year compared with the existing target.

Housing is only one part of the discussion. The plan must also consider land for jobs and the facilities needed alongside development, including schools, healthcare, leisure and cultural facilities, green spaces and safe neighbourhoods.

Transport choices are part of the same framework. According to the council, the updated plan is intended to support sustainable travel by making walking, cycling and public transport easier, while contributing to the district’s ambition to become net zero and climate-ready by 2038.

Detailed development sites come later

This consultation does not decide which specific sites will be allocated for development. Kirklees Council says site allocations and detailed policies will be subject to a separate consultation in June 2027.

Feedback collected during the current four-week period will be considered alongside updated evidence about the district’s future needs. That material will inform the next version of the Local Plan and the options presented at the later stage.

Comments must reach the council by 11 September

Participation is through the Local Plan section of the Kirklees Council website. The source does not specify fixed daily consultation hours, a physical venue, transport information or accessibility arrangements for an in-person event.

Residents and organisations can review the consultation material online and tell the council which local issues, development pressures and community priorities the plan should address. Responses submitted by Friday 11 September will feed into the draft policies and development options prepared for the next stage.

Source: Kirklees Council