Affordable homes development at the former Ilkley Middle School is passed (From Bradford Telegraph and Argus)

Affordable homes development at the former Ilkley Middle School is passed

9:10am Friday 22nd February 2013 in News By Jo Winrow, City Hall Reporter

A scheme to build 33 homes on a former school site in Ilkley scraped through the planning process yesterday, with only the chairman’s casting vote splitting the deadlock.

Bradford Council itself had applied to build the two, three and four-bedroom homes at the former Ilkley Middle School site, Valley Drive.

Members of the authority’s regulatory and appeals committee heard that the plans had attracted opposition from dozens of residents as well as local councillors, who were concerned about traffic congestion and the strain on local schools, as well as the loss of a former education site and that the development would encroach on neighbouring public football pitches.

The proposed development is part of a £6 million plan by the Council to create affordable homes on two sites in Ilkley, with nine of the 33 homes being made available at an affordable rent.

The committee of six councillors were initially split down the middle over the plans, and it fell to chairman, Councillor David Warburton, to have the casting vote, which saw the plans passed yesterday.