PLANS for new homes in Silkstone are 'completely unnecessary'.
That's the view of Penistone Area Council chairman Robert Barnard who doubts there is even the demand or need for the volume of housing being talked about.
And he says extra housing in more rural parts of Barnsley runs the risk of creating a 'dormitory effect'.
Coun Barnard was speaking in the wake of a planning inquiry in Barnsley over recent days which has been considering development in rural parts of the borough.
He said: "The inspector does not think there are enough homes in the Local Plan to meet job creation targets.
"In the Penistone area, it is mainly executive homes which are being planned but the high-paying jobs to afford such properties are generally not available in this area meaning people have to commute.
"And this could create a dormitory effect.
"The west of the borough is a pleasant place to live but there are drawbacks in a lack of services and infrastructure."
He said a scheme for around 50 homes at Moorend in Silkstone Common was 'a completely unnecessary development'.
This project is in the Local Plan and being fiercely contested.
Miller Homes has also put forward an alternative - not in the Plan - for up to 200 houses on land at Knabbs Lane.
