Ward councillors are accusing Incommunities of banking land in Idle where flats are being demolished instead of letting a nearby primary school use it as a much-needed playing field.

Thackley and Idle Liberal Democrat councillor Jeanette Sunderland said as soon as she heard the social housing provider was planning to demolish the three blocks at Thorpe Garth she had asked if they would let Thorpe Primary School use it, but was told “no”.

“They will say they want to build houses on it, but need Government grants. That’s not going to happen because Incommunities doesn’t have any money of its own to build and would need too much,” she said.

“Thorpe Primary has had to be extended to take in more pupils and that extension has taken up its playing space on the Paddocks.

“They don’t have their own playing field now, but they could if Incommunities gave them this land which was a public acquisition in the first place. They are effectively land banking this. It’s quite disgusting.”

Coun Sunderland and Eccleshill ward councillor Geoff Reid (Lib Dem) now fear the land, if grassed over and left, would become a trouble-spot like empty land at Greystone Crescent in Thorpe Edge.

Coun Reid said: “We don’t want Thorpe Garth to become another Greystone Crescent. It’s a trouble-spot there and an eyesore.

“Greystone Crescent had its flats pulled down more than ten years ago and the land’s just been left. I’d much rather see it used partly for allotments or some other productive alternative use if it can’t be used for housing.”

The demolition of the empty flats at Thorpe Garth had been delayed for months while energy companies disconnected the meters, but the work started yesterday.

A spokesman for Incommunities said: “We are in detailed and advanced negotiations with a developer over the future of the Thorpe Garth site. We would envisage a start-on-site with new development taking place this year.

“In view of this, we are not able to use the site as a playing field, not least because of the immediacy of our development plans, but also because of safety fears given it is next door to a busy road with low access walling and the site has an adverse gradient mitigating against it being used as a playing field.

“With regards to the site at Greystone Crescent we have stopped off-road cars using it by introducing barriers and reducing access to the site. We also have development plans for the site and have bid for funds from the Homes and Communities Agency to facilitate development in 2015/16.”