A CONTROVERSIAL plan to build more than 100 homes on green fields is set to get final approval within days.

The scheme, for land used by grazing horses off Harrogate Road, between Greengates and Apperley Bridge, sparked a public protest last summer with more than 350 local people writing to planners to object.

Last July, a planning committee granted landowner AME Properties outline permission to use the land to build up to 130 homes on the four-hectare site.

Now a developer, Avant Homes, has worked up a detailed scheme which will go before Bradford Council’s Regulatory and Appeals committee on Thursday.

It is one of a number of large housing developments either planned for or already being built in north-east Bradford.

Under the current plans, the number of homes to be built on the site would be reduced slightly, to 105, and the number of affordable homes would also fall from 20 to 16.

There would be a mixture of detached, semi-detached and terraced homes of between two and three storeys.

But 50 people have written to the local authority objecting to the detailed plan, including two ward councillors.

Councillor Dominic Fear (Lib Dem, Idle and Thackley) said three-storey homes would be out of keeping with existing homes nearby in Carr Bottom Road.

also raised concerns about traffic, highways safety, possible drainage issues, the potential loss of trees and out-of-keeping materials being used to build the new homes.

His letter added: “Finally, I would like to draw attention to the poor consultation with local residents.

“Ahead of this application, leaflets were delivered to residents telling them to access a password protected website, something which a number of residents are unable to do. What is more, it was only a very short time between these leaflets and the application being submitted (not enough time to prepare the application itself).

“This demonstrates that the developers had little interest in residents’ comments or desire to change their plans at all.

“This lack of community engagement serves to highlight the approach taken to this development. One of not caring about the existing homes or the people that live within them.”

But a report by a planning officer, which recommends the plans for approval, says the developer was asked to remove the three-storey homes from the Carr Bottom Road frontage.

On potential flooding issues, the report says the Environment Agency, Yorkshire Water and the council’s own drainage team had all been consulted and raised no concerns about the application.

A statement from Avant said the plan was "a high quality scheme, both in design and planning terms, and will integrate seamlessly into the surrounding area".

It adds: “The proposal will compliment the character of the area by improving the appearance of what is at the moment, a vacant site that is perfect for an exciting new development which will provide the new residents with ample facilities and amenities.”