Object

Representation ID: 3293

Received: 22/03/2021

Respondent: Mr Mark Penny

The old school site on Chapel Street should not be developed for a number of reasons. Firstly, the site is accessible only via a narrow road that is difficult to negotiate by car. Apart from the physical difficulty of driving along the road, site development would also lead to an unacceptably high volume of traffic that would be dangerous for pedestrians, especially for schoolchildren who regularly use the road to access Addingham Primary School. There is no room to widen Chapel Street, so another access road would have to be built from School Lane, which would also be environmentally destructive. Secondly, the site is an important wildlife area, containing protected woodland and several standalone trees placed under TPOs. Developing the site would lead to significant biodiversity losses as well removal of an important biological refuge and stepping stone for myriad taxa, especially birds, insects and bats.