A green field in Idle, Bradford, has been saved from development – for now.

Residents were chalking up a temporary victory after a plan for 14 homes on the Council-owned field was refused by planners, despite officers recommending it for approval.

The field off Highfield Road, which has been earmarked for housing in the past, is used as pastureland.

The Council’s asset management team had been looking to secure outline permission for homes so it could sell it on for the maximum price, the Regulatory and Appeals Committee heard.

The committee refused the plan, saying it would be an over-development of the site and there was not enough detail about how drainage problems would be sorted.

But committee chairman Councillor David Warburton (Lab, Wyke) warned objectors this did not mean the site was safe from development forever. One of the objectors, Mike Williams, said he was glad the committee had refused the plan. He said: “It’s not been properly thought through.”

Another nearby resident, Tim Brearley, said: “I’m delighted with the outcome and what’s happened today, and so are my neighbours.”