CONTROVERSIAL plans for solar-powered eco-homes built on drained Baildon reservoirs have been refused by Bradford Council.

A planning application for two five-bedroom bungalows at the site in Bingley Road has been refused under the council’s delegated powers, and was not discussed at a planning meeting.

The proposed homes would have sat below the sight-line and been within the reservoirs’ high stone walls.

Each would have been 5,000 sq ft in area and supported by concrete rafts, inset into the drained and partially-filled top two reservoirs.

Bradford Council refused planning permission saying the proposal represented inappropriate development in the green belt and would be contrary to the purposes of allocating land as green belt.

It stated that the proposed development would “harm the character and conservation of the Rombalds Ridge Landscape Character Area”, which separates the Aire and Wharfe valleys.

The plan also did not sufficiently demonstrate that the development would not cause ecological harm to Baildon Moor, particularly in terms of potential harm through light pollution and the introduction of inappropriate flora. The proposal was also refused as it did not include safe vehicular access onto Bingley Road.

An enforcement notice has been handed to the developers by Bradford Council for a breach of planning control.

Stones which once lined the three reservoirs have been removed and filled in with lorryloads of inert soil in preparation for building work.

The council said this work, to configure embankments and ponds to form a development platform, had been carried out without planning permission.

Councillor Mike Pollard (Con, Baildon) said: “This is excellent news. I would now expect the applicants to appeal and I suspect it will now be part of a long-running saga.

“Work has been going on for months there.”

Site owner Andy Jones, a builder and developer from Eldwick, confirmed he would be appealing the council’s decision to Sajid Javid, the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government.

Mr Jones bought the old reservoirs from Baildon businessman Arthur Edwick and he previously said the two eco homes would be one of the best places to live in Yorkshire.