PLANS for a £20 million housing development at Apperley Bridge have been welcomed by a senior councillor - who hopes it will push forward funding to improve a nearby congested main road junction.

Yorkshire housebuilder Ben Bailey Homes is seeking permission for the development of 69 homes on the former Stylo shoe factory site, which has recently been cleared.

Councillor Val Slater, the Bradford's Councillor executive member for housing and planning, welcomed the move, saying it was in line the the authority's aim to see more brownfield sites developed.

She said it would increase pressure for improvements at the nearby busy Harrogate Road and New Line junction at Greengates, for which funding is being sought from the West Yorkshire Transport Fund.

Recent proposals to build 130 homes on neighbouring green fields at Greengates - with plans for more than 500 more in the nearby area already under way - drew protests from local residents concerned about the impact on local schools and increased traffic congestion.

Cllr Slater said: " I expect there will also be objections to the Apperley Bridge, plan but I welcome this development which shows confidence in the district by the developer. We need more housing on brownfield sites .

"The new scheme is another reason we need to make improvements to the busy New Line junction and this is being discussed by the West Yorkshire Transport Fund. Also the new Apperley Bridge rail station is due to open by the end of the year and will be convenient of the new development."

A planning application for the seven acre site has been submitted and, if approved, work will begin next month on a mix of three, four and five-bedroom townhouses, semi-detached and detached properties. The first homes, which will be the first to feature Bailey's new designs,are expected to be ready for occupation in August .

Mark Mitchell, Ben Bailey Homes’ managing director, said: “The purchase of new land in Apperley Bridge is a significant investment for the business and part of our ongoing strategy for a major roll out of new developments across Yorkshire in 2015. The site build will also create a number of sales and construction jobs over the next two years.

“This will be a high quality development designed to integrate seamlessly into the surrounding area. The site will feature our brand new house designs, which have been developed following extensive market research raising the standard of new build homes and setting them apart from the competition.”

The Apperley Bridge site, next to the Leeds-Liverpool Canal, was the headquarters of a shoe empire owned by the Ziff family since 1935.

It closed after the company, formerly Stylo plc and renamed Barrett Shoes, collapsed into administration for the third time in four years in November 2013.

By that time around 150 staff remained at Apperley Bridge and the company headed by Michael Ziff was intending to move into smaller accommodation.

The site was bought by Leeds-based Town Centre Securities, run by Mr Ziff 's brother Edward, which published plans to develop up to 80 homes there.

Michael Ziff has since invested in an online shoe and fashion retailing business, W Barratt & Co along with Lancashire-based shoe industry entrepre-neur Harvey Jacobson and other unnamed investors.