A housing developer has won a three-year battle to build a controversial £3 million apartment block in Middleton.

Ilkley firm Micklegate Special Projects Ltd can now press ahead with the creation of a luxury, three-storey building at Willow Springs, in Gilstead Way, after successfully appealing against Bradford Council.

The authority turned down the plans, which were opposed by local residents, Ilkley Civic Society and Ilkley Parish Council, for the second time last October, claiming the scheme was too large and would have a negative effect on neighbouring households.

But a Government planning inspector, who heard from supporters and opponents of the eight-flats project at an inquiry in mid-February, has overruled that decision.

He found that the cover provided by boundary trees and shrubbery would "screen, filter and soften the lines of the building in views from outside."

His report goes on to praise the building's design for picking up on 'elements of some of the older development in the Middleton area'.

It says: "Constructed to this design the building would not, in my view, be at odds with its surroundings, despite being larger than the properties nearby and a fairly full use of the site.

"I conclude the proposal strikes an acceptable balance in design terms which I do not believe would be unduly detrimental to the character and appearance of the wider surroundings."

The inspector also ruled that the new homes would be far enough away from nearby properties, helped by shielding from trees, to maintain their privacy.

The land at Willow Springs lies beside a flood plain and was flooded, along with many neighbouring houses, this February when the River Wharfe overflowed.

But while sympathising with residents' concerns about the new property increasing the risk of flooding, the inspector ruled that the drainage scheme put forward by Micklegate would remove that danger.

For the residents who make up Willow Springs Action Group and Ilkley Parish Council, which consistently fought the plans, the decision has come as a bitter blow.

Councillor Audrey Brand, chairman of planning, said: "I am deeply disappointed, especially for the residents there, because the parish council worked very hard on this and thought we had put forward a really strong case for rejecting the appeal.

"This dispute has been going on for ages now and we have been waiting for the result for so long that we hoped that meant it was being considered in great detail before being rejected.

"In a residential area of individual houses of character we just didn't want this large block built, because we thought, and still think, it would be over-dominant and out of character. It is also, of course, a loss of green space, and in a residential area like Gilstead Way we want to keep open spaces."

Coun Brand added that she still had concerns about the site being vulnerable to flooding, and of the effect increased traffic from the development would have in the area.

Ilkley estate agents Simon Thornton, however, who will sell the flats for Micklegate, are convinced the inspector has got it right - and can now begin marketing homes which are expected to fetch between £300,000 and £400,000 apiece.

Mr Thornton said he believed demand would be high when the apartments came on to the market.

"We've got three people who have put their names down for one already," he said. "They are going to be luxurious and spacious and we expect to sell to either single people or couples, probably early retired business or professional people.

"These apartments will be in a very level, sunny position which will be ideal for many people."

Micklegate has already created an earlier apartment scheme in Middleton, at Summerfield, in Denton Road.

The firm will have to implement a string of conditions set by the inspector, including obscuring visibility on all of the windows on the eastern side of the development to ensure privacy.

A starting date for work at Willow Springs is still to be fixed, but the project is expected to take between ten and 12 months.