MORE than 150 objections have been submitted against a retrospective planning application for a gypsy and traveller caravan site in Queensbury.

Bradford Council has received an application for permission for change of use for a site in Low Lane, off Brighouse and Denholme Road. One person has submitted a comment to the authority in support of the application.

The site is near Low Lane’s junction with Pit Lane and lies between houses and a stables.

Councillor Paul Cromie (Ind, Queensbury) said: “It is ridiculous. Everybody is up in arms about it. You cannot just spring up a travellers’ site without planning permission. You just cannot do it, end of. It is not going to get passed, I am 100 per cent certain of that. I will be very upset if it does.” He said he understood the land was sold to a travelling family in the recent past.

One objector said: “The land in question is green belt and should be kept as such for future generations. Allowing houses or residential areas to be built without proper procedure ridicules the system in place and fails us and future generations.

“I use Low Lane at least four times a day during the school week when taking my daughter to and from school and have already had several close calls with vehicles and horses due to the residents of this site parking Land Rovers, trucks or similar close to the turning into Low Lane.

“The retrospective nature of this application completely ignores proper procedure and will encourage others to take similar action.”

Another said: “I object on the grounds that they should have bought the land and then applied for planning permission like the rest of us instead of applying retrospectively.”

Another commented: “Permission should have been sought prior to any developments on the site being undertaken, not retrospectively. I understand it is in Green Belt and other applicants in the vicinity have been refused planning permission.”

The supportive comment said: “No issue at all with this. They have been there a year or so and it has caused no issue that I am aware of. I pass the site at least twice a day and there has not appeared to be any problems with heavy traffic as mentioned by others. Each application should be dealt with on its merits and not based upon pure prejudice.”

There was no answer at the site when the T&A visited yesterday.

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