A GOVERNMENT inspectors have backed Bradford Council’s decision to block a planned housing development on Greenbelt land.

The Steadman family had applied to build a row of five cottages on land next to 35 Brighouse And Denholme Road, between Queensbury and Denholme and opposite the Raggalds pub.

This planning application was refused last August, with planning officers saying it was “inappropriate development” for the Greenbelt.

The Steadmans lodged an appeal against the decision, saying the development would help with the supply of new homes in the district, but now a government planning inspector has also refused to grant them planning permission.

The report by the planning inspector said the development would introduce a “significant amount of building onto land that is currently largely free from built structures. It would encroach into the open countryside and add to urban sprawl.

“The proposal would have a harmful effect on the character and appearance of the rural countryside.”