A DEVELOPMENT of homes in Oxenhope could "cause appreciable harm" to the village, planners have claimed.

An application to build two houses on land off Shaw Lane was refused by Bradford Council this week. Planning officers refused the scheme, by Taylor, for a number of reasons.

They pointed out that the site is a "key open space" in the Oxenhope Upper Town Conservation Area adding: "The development of key open spaces is regarded as a threat to character by the appraisal.

"The land's development would cause appreciable harm that would not be balanced by any comparable public benefit."

Officers also said the houses would be an "over-dominant and incongruous form of development in the street scene" and "would lead to an intensification of use of a sub-standard unadopted highway and sub-standard public right of way with poor visibility."

Oxenhope Parish Council had also said it "strongly" objected to the plans.