Go-ahead urged for 300 homes on village sites despite protests

The controversial plans for sites in Bingley Road and Derry Hill have attracted dozens of letters of objection from residents who say the character of the village will be changed forever.

They fear increased traffic congestion, overcrowding on trains, flooding and further parking problems.

A report by the assistant director of planning at Bradford Council, Julian Jackson, says both plans should be approved.

The first plan, an outline application for up to 125 homes on agricultural land at Bingley Road, has previously been allocated as a housing site in the authority’s replacement unitary development plan.

The site has good access to local primary and secondary schools, local services in the village centre and to the railway station.

Hundreds of local people, along with Menston Parish Council and Menston Community Association, have objected to the plans.

Objectors have raised issues about the potential affect on roads and traffic, drainage, parking and a loss of privacy.

More than 500 letters of objection have been sent to the city council.

A report by Mr Jackson to members of the Shipley area planning panel, which meets on Tuesday, July 19, says the plans should be approved, subject to a financial agreement with the developer Taylor Wimpey.

The developer will be expected to pay £205,500 towards secondary school provision and over £300,000 towards transport improvements. Money for recreation provision would also have to be paid.

The report says the demand for housing is higher now than when the replacement unitary development plan (RUDP) was produced.

“The most important change in circumstance since the RUDP was produced from a strategic planning point of view is that the scale of need for new housing is now thought to be very significantly higher than that which to the allocation of the site at Menston in 2005. This makes it difficult to sustain any reasonable objection to the principle of development of this site.”

The Bradford area faces “a significant challenge in securing sufficient housing to meet its need over the coming years.”

“Ensuring the delivery of development on existing identified housing sites will be the first step to meeting this challenge. It is essential that land is available now which can be prepared and progressed so that the needs of the district’s population are met as confidence among both developers and house purchasers recovers.”

The site at Bingley Road will boost supply of new homes at a time when housing delivery has dropped to “undesirably low levels”, it adds.

A planning report to the same committee is also recommending approval to Barratt Homes for 174 homes on pasture land at Derry Hill.

There were over 1,000 objections and just one in support.

Planning officers say the plans should be approved, subject to the developer contributing money towards recreation, public transport and education.

The report concludes: “The site at Derry Hill would boost the supply of new homes at a time when housing delivery has dropped to a relatively low level. Therefore, if an acceptable scheme is achieved, the site will contribute to the council’s five-year land supply and thus reduce the pressure and threat of unplanned releases of land in other locations which conflict with the current RUDP policy.”

The report contains the council’s response to objections raised by Menston Parish Council and Menston Action Group, who argued that housing targets imposed by national government are out of date.

The committee meets at City Hall at 10am on July 19.