Chidswell Action Group is a community group that's been working since 2012 to protect a mosaic of habitat from permanent destruction by a Church of England planning proposal.  The 300-acre site is made up of working farmland, two ancient woodlands and wildlife habitat which is thriving with biodiversity.  

The area includes designated Local Wildlife Sites, the Kirklees Wildlife Habitat Network and numerous protected species which are not included in the CoE's out-of-date surveys.  We've provided evidence of the unrecorded species but the CoE has refused to update the surveys.  Based on our evidence, we believe the area is of SSSI quality.

In December 2024, Kirklees Council Approved Outline Planning Permission for the first stage of development on the Heybeck site.  This was despite our warning that the Approval would be subject to a legal challenge for the unaddressed material considerations.  And so, we applied to the High Court for Judicial Review.

In February 2025, the Court granted permission for our claim to proceed.  Our legal grounds are solid and the hearing is expected in the coming weeks.

We are asking for help to raise £6,000 for our Solicitor's fees for the hearing.  We have successfully raised over £16,000 to get us to this stage but more fees are coming our way!  Our local community, and other generous supporters, have helped us to get here.  Now we are hoping to find new donors for this final push.  We need your support: please contribute and share this page now!

A key part of our case is that Kirklees Council has agreed to planning conditions that cannot, and will not, protect the natural habitats and abundant species on the site if the development goes ahead.  Ours is not the only case where this is happening - this is going on up and down the country.  The CoE's Biodiversity Net Gain surveys are unreliable and our evidence of protected species (otters, barn owls, kingfishers, bats, redwing in Summer) has been disregarded.  Until now, Kirklees Council have been able to 'mark their own homework' and keep pushing this development through without scrutiny of the harm that will result.  We intend to make this a landmark case and set a precedent for other similar cases.  At the very least, we hope to achieve a better outcome for the wildlife that currently has no proper consideration in the process.

Every donation will make a difference.  We are so close to getting a good result for our cause, which may  help others who are facing the same injustice.  Thank you to everyone that is able to help.