THREE controversial housing plans which were the subject of fierce objections have been approved by Bradford Council’s planning committee.

The sites on the outskirts of Bradford will see almost 1,100 new homes built despite fears of traffic congestion and lack of infrastructure.

The biggest development given the go-ahead was for 700 homes at Bolton Woods Quarry, off Bolton Hall Road, which received an objection from Shipley Conservative MP Philip Davies.

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Mr Davies said in his written representation: “As a previously developed site (as opposed to greenfield) I do support some housing here but I have concerns over the sheer scale of the proposed development. Seven hundred houses will have a massive impact on the area particularly in relation to increased traffic; access to dwellings via existing residential streets, pressure on already very busy junctions nearby and increased congestion on major roads, such as Canal Road.”

Mr Davies also said he was concerned about inadequate infrastructure, such as school places, access to doctors and dentists to support all the new residents and that he thought there had been inadequate consultation with local people.

Objector Mrs S Johnson, from Shipley, who spoke at today’s planning meeting, said she was concerned that the development would cause traffic chaos and congestion.

She also questioned one of the Section 106 agreement contributions of £245,000 towards car charging points per household.

“This will only work if people have electric cars,” she said.

She added there had been no reports on potential flooding or contamination of the site or any on the danger of subsidence or slippage.

Planning officers, who had recommended approval of the site, told members of the committee that though the site was within a nil Community Infrastructure levy zone, the applicant had agreed to Section 106 agreements totalling over £1 million.

As well as the charging points, there would be £35,000 towards personalised travel plans; a contribution of £220,000 towards site specific emission reduction measures; £49,000 towards mitigating recreational impacts on protected habitats and £441,000 towards on-site affordable housing provision.

Ian Bath, planning adviser for the applicants, said: “This is one of the district’s strategic regeneration sites and is important to the Canal Road Corridor which will have substantial regeneration benefits.”

Another contentious planning application which received the green light was a development of 250 dwellings on land in Thornton Road, to the west of Thornton village.

The site had been passed for an employment site in 2012 but had failed to receive any interest.

Ward councillor Richard Dunbar (Lab) said he was objecting to the development on behalf of Thornton residents.

“I urge the panel to refuse this application because of the impact it will have on the ward,” he said.

“Officers cannot guarantee that the land is not contaminated and I ask that tests be carried out before work is started.

“There is also the increasing pressure on infrastructure such as doctors’ surgeries and schools. The objections of local residents should not be ignored and need to be heard.”

Officers recommending approval for the site stated there was on-site provision for up to 20 percent of the units to be affordable housing.

The committee also approved a further 128 homes on land at Fagley Youth and Community Centre, despite a covenant on the site stating it should remain in community use.

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Officers stated the covenant was a separate issue and would not be affected if permission was given, but ward councillor Geoff Reid (Lib Dem) said: “Given that we are here because an organisation described as a community association decided to sell the land to the developers, it is adding insult to injury to expect to deal with the covenant after planning permission has been granted, rather than the other way round.

“You have been told that the ward members have been consulted. Please do not assume that this means we think everything is fine.

“We insisted on meeting with the council leadership. We spoke to planning officers, we expressed our concerns over what we saw as a very shabby chain of events.

“Without appropriate assurances we would not support going ahead with this one.”

Planning officers said the covenant was something between the land-owners and the developers and whether it would be lifted would be decided by a judge.

Officers said dealing with covenants on sites was a risk developers had to take.

The development will be a mix of two, three and four-bed semi-detached and detached homes, including garages.

A summary of 17 representations received included that there were too many houses being built in the area, including 500 houses on the former old quarry site in Fagley, and that the surrounding road network could not deal with additional traffic

Concern was also expressed at the loss of a multi-use games area, stating more places should be made for young people to meet and socialise.