Green field campaigners' fury as Council says it has no idea how much derelict land is available (From Bradford Telegraph and Argus)
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Run-down sites must be a priority for development, say protesters
7:30am Monday 31st January 2011 in News By Tanya O'Rourke
Campaigners opposed to greenfield developments have blasted Bradford Council for its lack of up-to-date information on how much land is lying derelict across the district.
It has emerged that the last full survey of vacant land was done more than ten years ago, prompting strong calls for the local authority to assess potential brownfield development sites before allowing green sites to be destroyed.
As part of a Government-funded programme, surveys were carried out every four years until 1999, when the last survey revealed the total area of dereliction in the district amounted to 0.7sq miles, made up of 145 separate sites.
Elizabeth Hellmich, of Heaton Township Association, said: “Bradford Council need to get someone to work out how much derelict land they have got.
“They need to map it. I think they’d get quite a shock if they realised how much derelict land there was.
“Before they start building on the greenfield sites they need to build on these run-down areas.”
The report, put before a meeting of the Council’s regeneration and economy overview and scrutiny committee, said the Council looked at derelict sites on a case-by-case basis.
It stated that land had fallen into disrepair for a variety of reasons, including owners not being able to afford to maintain buildings, and in some cases buildings had been part-demolished to avoid paying business rates.
Terry Brown, chairman of Greenhill Action Group, which is fighting proposals to build 475 homes off Sty Lane, Micklethwaite, near Bingley, said: “Before we drive asunder all our green fields to build houses we should be checking on things like derelict land.”
For more on this story see Today’s T&A
Comments(21)
Avro
says...
8:36am Mon 31 Jan 11
The answer lies in your question, who wants to live in a run down area, or for that matter Bradford at all, its no wonder greenfield out of town sites are more desirable!
Bradford has a heap of empty converted and newly built flats in run down areas, you want more do you??
Thee Voice of Reason
says...
8:47am Mon 31 Jan 11
Apollo
says...
9:04am Mon 31 Jan 11
It should be an easy job to update it to reflect changes since then. About 1 weeks work for a team of 3 people.
Bradford Council = seriously unfit for purpose.
mad matt
says...
10:02am Mon 31 Jan 11
There are sites across this city that have been derelict for donkeys years - the council will say that somebody owns them, half the time they do not even know who the owners are! What about compulsory purchase orders being used to flush out the owners?
If they carry on building on pristine green-field sites, where are we going to be able to grow all the extra food that will be needed to feed the burgeoning population, brown-field sites?
vbfg
says...
10:37am Mon 31 Jan 11
Thee Voice of Reason
says...
10:41am Mon 31 Jan 11
709END
says...
12:11pm Mon 31 Jan 11
Thee Voice of Reason
says...
12:16pm Mon 31 Jan 11
Uther Pendragon
says...
3:19pm Mon 31 Jan 11
Keighley Courts, empty Keighley College x 2, The Odeon building etc,etc,
etc?
citizen smith
says...
3:47pm Mon 31 Jan 11
"Bradford Council" and "no idea"...... a few words I never thought I'd see together in a report.
BCFC86
says...
4:25pm Mon 31 Jan 11
Interested to see what Councillor Greenwood will do (been a Councillor for over 10 years) was he aware? Please get a grip and do something positive, ban all new greenfield building until brown field used up. Actions speak louder than words (of which we hear too much from you) action please!
Herbal Nation
says...
4:41pm Mon 31 Jan 11
yangy8
says...
4:44pm Mon 31 Jan 11
built some good property there and it becomes a nice area because only NICE people will live there!
stop getting the social paying all the private rents to run down houses that are not worth anything but charged £500 a month! does the council ever check these properties?
make the rent match the house, soon change then.
Far Away
says...
6:24pm Mon 31 Jan 11
TirNaNog
says...
7:53pm Mon 31 Jan 11
Thee Voice of Reason wrote:Well it's definitely being used for something as I could smell it as I walked past on Sunday evening after slaloming through the beggars.
If the last survey was carried out in 1999, the Odeon might still be classed as not been derelict, which might explain why nothing has been done as the council probably think it's still being used.
webess
says...
8:35pm Mon 31 Jan 11
Bazzabails
says...
8:35pm Mon 31 Jan 11
Permission to build on Greenbelt land should be abolished until the Council can prove that every step has been taken to build on all the available Brownfield sites. They should also put forward a full and comprehensive report that outlines all the avenues taken to reduce the amount of unoccupied buildings/houses in the district.
We, the taxpayers, who have to pay them every month, need to challenge this Council much more. They do what they want, when they want and never seek approval from us.
BAN building on Greenfield sites. They are the only places to get away from our clogged up roads and fumes.
rio8uk
says...
9:34pm Mon 31 Jan 11
Bazzabails
says...
10:22pm Mon 31 Jan 11
spinnekop
says...
11:59pm Mon 31 Jan 11
'cost-huge'
old speckled hen says...
7:41am Mon 31 Jan 11