PLANS to build 12 houses in Queensbury had to be altered after the police raised concerns that the design could encourage crime.

The scheme, which would mean four large detached homes and a row of eight townhouses were built at Long Lane, is set to be approved by a planning committee next week, despite objectors' concerns that the homes are too big and will block views.

The plans had to be altered by developer Eco Windows, after West Yorkshire Police raised concerns about a private shared footpath which had been drawn into the scheme.

The footpath would have run along the back of the townhouses to allow the householders to take their bins in and out of their back gardens.

But Lisa Reardon, architectural liaison officer for West Yorkshire Police, wrote to Bradford Council planners saying such shared footpaths could attract criminals or cause grievances between neighbours.

She said: "We do have some areas across the district where some neighbours use these footpath areas for flytipping, which causes neighbour disputes.

"If the gate is left open or unlocked, it allows any potential offender to enter this area and attempt entry into the gardens."

The scheme has since been redesigned, with this footpath removed, a new council report shows.

As such, the planning application is recommended for approval at a meeting of the Council's Regulatory and Appeals Committee on Tuesday.

The planning application has attracted eight objections, with most people saying the homes are too large.

The eight townhouses are all three storeys high, with three bedrooms each.

Three of the detached homes would be two-and-a-half storeys high, with five bedrooms each.

And the largest home is a two-and-a-half storey detached house with six bedrooms, five bathrooms, a TV room and a gym.

Richard Kent, of Burwood Drive, wrote to planners saying: "We moved into the Burwood Heights development 18 months ago and currently have a superb view looking into Shibden Valley.

"The proposed development would block any view we will have into the valley as well as many of my neighbours, especially due to the height of the houses being proposed."

And in another written objection, Carol Cawood, of The Pickerings, said: "For goodness sake! Aren't there enough houses being built and have been built already without the addition of more in the Long Lane area?

"The increase in traffic, both vehicular and pedestrian, is at choking point on Long Lane. How much more can one lane take?"

The patch of land at Long Lane once contained a large house in extensive gardens, but this has been demolished.

Earlier outline plans for nine homes on the site were approved in 2013.e Regulatory and Appeals Committee meets at City Hall's banqueting hall from 10am.