Telegraph & Argus

Police have expressed concerns about plans to build 475 homes in the Aire Valley.

Officers said there were security issues they believed had not been “satisfactorily addressed” in Bellway and Redrow’s application to build the estate off Sty Lane, Micklethwaite, Bingley.

Paul Corah, Bradford district architectural liaison officer for West Yorkshire Police, said the layout of the estate incorporated several features which could generate crime.

The list of potential problems included parking behind houses and cul de sacs with too many footpath exits for criminals.

Mr Corah’s report stated: “Rear parking courts present a number of problems and the belief that they are acceptable if they are provided with ‘natural surveillance from occupants’ is misleading and over-reliant as a means to reducing crime.”

Mr Corah said where cul de sacs had several footpath exits crime can be higher than cul de sacs which had fewer exits.

He also said that the plan for five access routes off the estate onto the canal towpath was “excessive and is unacceptable in terms of the additional escape routes the inclusion of these routes present.”

He advised reducing the number of footpaths to make it easier for potential criminals to be spotted.

Mr Corah also urged the developers to carefully consider the lighting of the estate and landscaping issues.

He said the aim should be to avoid creating hiding places or dark and secluded areas.

The report concluded: “This application cannot be fully supported by West Yorkshire Police without the above issues being satisfactorily addressed.”

The Greenhill Action Group (GAG), which opposes the development, has raised a petition containing more than 1,000 signatures.

On Saturday, the group hosted a stall at Bingley market where people were able to complete an objection postcard and sign the petition.

GAG chairman Terry Brown said he was concerned that crime prevention was being inadequately addressed by the developers.

He said: “There are so many footpaths, and so on. When it comes down to it, the safety and the security of the residents, if the scheme was to go ahead, should be paramount in the developer’s considerations, rather than how many houses they can get on the site.

“We are not aware of all the security and the police guidelines regarding these sorts of things and it’s good that the police have taken the time to look at this and comment on the site.”

Bellway and Redrow declined to comment on the police concerns.

Telegraph & Argus

Most canal users oppose plans for a controversial waterside housing development, according to a survey by protesters.

The Greenhill Action Group (GAG) commissioned the poll on the towpath of the Leeds-Liverpool Canal at Micklethwaite, Bingley. The group is fighting plans to build 475 homes off Sty Lane, near Bingley’s famous Five Rise Locks.

The group says research revealed 97 per cent of those questioned disapproved of the proposed development, believing it would have a negative impact on their enjoyment of the area.

In a period of six days at the end of March, more than 2,090 people were recorded as using the towpath. Of those, a total of 512 people were interviewed for the survey. According to the research, 41 per cent said they would visit the area less often if the new houses were built.

The group said towpath users expressed particular concerns over the potential loss of habitat for birds along the canal bank, destruction of green space and loss of a pleasant view.

GAG chairman Terry Brown said: “The survey demonstrates how popular this section of the canal is and its relevance as a leisure amenity, for both the local community and to visitors.

“The results reflect a high level of disapproval for this housing development.”

The group said the survey will be submitted to Bradford Council for consideration as part of the planning application process for the housing development. Construction giants Bellway and Redrow have applied for outline planning permission for the new homes.

A drop-in meeting has been held at Bingley Arts Centre to give residents the chance to inspect the plans.

A public meeting has been organised by the group at Bingley Grammar School on Thursday, April 22, at 7pm.

Bellway and Redrow declined to comment on the opposition to the proposals.

Yorkshire Post

Opponents of a controversial housing development in West Yorkshire are urging Bradford Council to defer the planning application until after the local elections.

A bid to build 475 homes north of Laythorpe Farm, Sty Lane, Micklethwaite, Bingley, has led to a wave of opposition.

Redrow Homes (Yorkshire) Ltd and Bellway Homes Ltd have submitted a planning application for the dwellings as well as a new swing
ADVERTISEMENT bridge over the Leeds and Liverpool canal and provision of new accesses off Sty Lane and Micklethwaite Lane, access off Fairfax Road and off-site highway improvements.

Greenhill Action Group, which fought off efforts to build on the site in 1993, says the impending local elections and a recent problem with Bradford Council's website are hindering efforts to learn more about the proposal.

The group's chairman Terry Brown, is calling for the application to be withdrawn and resubmitted after the local election.

Mr Brown said: "The planning application has a 16-week period (in which) to be determined. That 16 weeks is up on June 23. We have the local elections coming up so no-one can talk about anything in the six weeks before that. The developers have all the information but we are getting it in dribs and drabs."

Mr Brown has written to Bradford Council chief executive Tony Reeves requesting that the planning application be deferred until after the local elections.

He claims that the council's website was unusable from March 3 to 20, making it impossible for the public to download the large volume of documents attached to the planning application.

He also says that it took over three months to get confirmation that the group could use an online petition and that conflicting information had been given about the closing dates for representations to be received about the plan.

In his letter to Mr Reeves, Mr Brown said there would be "no public meeting until May 12" and called for the application to be deferred until after the local elections "when the community can be correctly informed and have the opportunity to make well considered, valid representations regarding this application."

He said that "the planning application determination period falls during the local elections and Neighbourhood Forums are barred from arranging a meeting during the six-week period prior to the local elections.

"I believe dispensation was requested and refused. Surely there is a moral duty of fairness to the public and electorate of Bradford."

Opponents of the scheme are worried about traffic access, the volume of traffic which will be generated, and the loss of green space.

Peter Bridgman, Bradford Council's development manager, said the council has no legal power to demand that the applicant withdraw the planning application.

He added: "Our legal duty is to publicise the application to give people the opportunity to comment and this has been done.

"The earliest the application will be discussed by a planning panel is May 25 and people have until then to make comments.

"People can call into Shipley Town Hall and examine the plans and there will be a drop-in session on April 7 at Bingley Arts Centre between 10am and midday.

"There is also a special Neighbourhood Forum at Bingley Grammar School on May 11 at 7pm specifically on this subject.

"Unfortunately there have been a few glitches due to a new website which we are trying to rectify as soon as possible."

Telegraph & Argus

Villagers have declared a ‘call to arms’ in their battle to stop hundreds of houses being built in the Bingley countryside.

An application by construction giants Bellway and Redrow to obtain outline planning permission for 475 homes off Sty Lane, Micklethwaite, has now been validated for consideration by Bradford Council.

Greenhill Action Group (GAG), which is leading the protest, says that means the clock is ticking for opponents to prepare their protests before the issue goes before a Council committee. In the application, Bellway and Redrow are also seeking permission to replace the swing bridge over the Leeds-Liverpool Canal and provide new access roads off Sty Lane and Micklethwaite Lane, along with emergency access off Fairfax Road and off-site road improvements.

GAG now intends to hold weekly meetings with villagers as it draw up its battle plans over the next few months.

But its chairman Terry Brown complained that the group’s progress had so far been hindered by difficulties in downloading important documents relating to the application from the Council’s planning website.

He said: “We have got no more than 16 weeks and we have spent the best part of a week trying to get this information.

“This week we are drawing together a plan of action. We are preparing a newsletter to go out, we are going to be doing various surveys and arranging for petitions to be available, either printed or online.

“Our consultants are preparing our objections for the development site so that we can provide a list of valid objections for those people who want to object.”

Mr Brown said the group had already attracted considerable support from the community.

He said: “Hopefully now there’s enough of a groundswell of opinion to persuade the planing people to do something about it.

“And hopefully the objections that we have will be meaningful objections, and not just be in the manner of ‘we don’t want this in our back yard’, because that’s not what we are about.

“We have great concerns about 475 houses, which will mean something like 1,000 cars and about 1,500 people, all of which will make an impact on the transport infrastructure.”

Mr Brown argues that roads in the area would struggle to deal with the extra people and cars, even with the proposed replacement to the swing bridge – an opinion echoed by Councillor David Heseltine (Con, Bingley).

Coun Heseltine said: “I whole-heartedly support all the campaigners. It is a rural backdrop to Crossflatts and Micklethwaite as well as other parts of the Bingley ward.

“The canal side, where the proposed development is due to take place, is open countryside and the water’s edge is a haven for all sorts of feathered and four-legged wildlife.

“It would be a tragedy to lose such an outstanding part of the local community.”

The developers submitted an application last year but Bradford Council ruled it was “invalid” and needed to include more information before it would be resubmitted, a process that has now been completed.

The Greenhill Action Group (GAG) is opposing development by builders Bellway and Redrow near Sty Lane, Micklethwaite, Bingley.

They have employed town planning expert Richard Raper of Richard Raper Ltd and highways consultant Geoff Bowman, of Leeds firm White Young Green.

Their appointments were announced at a public meeting at St Aidan’s church, in Crossflatts, yesterday.

The developers submitted an outline application to Bradford Council but it was rejected because it was not detailed, planning officer Fiona Tiplady told the meeting. They are expected to re-submit the application.

Terry Brown, of GAG said the “vast majority” of people near the area were against the development.