Bradford Telegraph and Argus: Bradford North East LDF

In the fourth of a series of 27 articles analysing the key study into the availability of land in Bradford, TANYA O'ROURKE looks in depth at the possibilities for housing sites in Bradford North East.

As Bradford Council reveals it believes there will be room for more than 4,000 new houses in North East Bradford by 2028, concerns have been raised about whether they will be built for the residents who need them the most.

Councillors in the Eccleshill, and Idle and Thackley wards, have said housing suitable for older people is needed, rather than what ward Councillor Jeannette Sunderland described as "homes for homeless executives".

As part of the Council's draft Local Development Framework, which has gone out to public consultation, an assessment of potential housing sites in the area identifies 64 sites on which an estimated total of 4,442 homes could be built.

Of those 64 areas, 31 are classed as greenfield sites, 28 are a mix of greenfield and brownfield, and only five are solely brownfield.

Concerns have been raised about the potential for green belt land to be swallowed up by developments.

Areas identified include rolling farmland in Lower Fagley Lane, Fagley, which could accommodate 208.5 houses and land in Mitchell Lane, Thackley.

According to the Strategic Housing Land Availability Assessment, Bradford North East has the most urban character of all the settlements in the district and retains a "substantial capacity for new homes from undeveloped, allocated sites together with further redevelopment opportunities".

Councillor Ruth Billheimer (Lab, Eccleshill) said: "There are problems with some sites. One is in the green belt and naturally no-one wants to lose green belt.

There is also a protected playing field in another site. I think there may well be problems with Fagley Road and Lower Fagley Lane.

"There is a lot of building going on in the ward, particularly in Ravenscliffe. People have been saying there needs to be a consideration for what types of developments are needed. They would far rather see old people's bungalows put there rather than family houses."

Councillor Geoff Reid (Lib Dem, Eccleshill) said his ward had been "happy to take its full share of housing redevelopment", and in some cases housing developments would make use of land that is "not exactly what you would call prime countryside".

He said access and traffic would need to be considered when making decisions on some of the larg-er potential developments, and echoed Coun Billheimer's concerns about lower Fagley.

"I am a bit worried about the lower Fagley end, " he said. "We are currently developing things around the youth and community centre. There's an environmental project, garden projects.

"I wouldn't want to see these ventures threatened."

The Localism Act, which became law in November, devolves greater powers to councils and neighbourhoods and gives communities greater control over housing and planning decisions.

Councillor Jeanette Sunderland, Liberal Democrat group leader and ward Councillor for Idle and Thackley, said she felt the Council was "pushing it through to stop people exerting their rights in accordance with the localism law".

Green belt land in Mitchell Lane, Thackley, could be suitable for 154 houses in 13 to 17 years from now, according to the document. "It's outrageous, there is no access, it is just outrageous, " said Coun Sunderland.

"We have built more than our fair share of homes for homeless executives. What we require is some homes for older people. We have a high proportion of older people living in the ward and we need homes for older people.

"If there were to be housing we'd want to see some restric-tions on it. We need a balance."

The Strategic Housing Land Availability Assessment (SHLAA) is a technical document which will provide a pool of sites from which to select land to be allocat-ed for housing when preparing the Local Development Framework.

The Framework is a blueprint that will manage development and growth across the district over the next 15 years.

Consultation on its core strategy document, which sets out a long-term spatial vision for the district until 2028, is continuing. It sets out broad locations for development and policies that will influence the use of land and the type and scale of development permitted, as well as identifying key infrastructure requirements.

The overall Local Development Framework is not expected to come into effect until 2013 with consultation over specific land allocations next year.

Sites included in the existing SHLAA might not make it into the land allocations documents and final framework as no decisions have yet been taken on any of the sites. Further potential sites could be identified as the assessment is updated every year.

Planning policies will continue to emphasise that brownfield sites are the priority over greenfield land, according to the Council.

THE LONG-TERM LAND STRATEGY

The Strategic Housing Land Availability Assessment (SHLAA) is a technical document which will provide a pool of sites from which to select land to be allocated for housing when preparing the Local Development Framework.

The Framework is a blueprint that will manage development and growth across the district over the next 15 years.

Consultation on it's core strategy document, which sets out a long-term spatial vision for the district until 2028, is continuing. It sets out broad locations for development and policies that will influence the use of land and the type and scale of development permitted, as well as identifying key infrastructure requirements.

The overall Local Development Framework is expected to come into effect in 2013 with consultation over specific land allocations taking place during 2012.

Sites included in the current SHLAA may not make it into the land allocations documents and final framework. In addition further potential sites could be identified as the assessment is updated every year.