A DECISION on plans to build almost 170 homes on a long empty brownfield site will be made by Councillors next week.

Plans for homes on the former Grattan site at Lidget Green date back several years, and on Thursday an application for 167 homes will go before Bradford Council's Regulatory and Appeals Committee.

Members will be advised to approve the application, by Gleeson Redevelopment, despite the fact that no affordable homes will be included in the development.

The site is opposite a Yorkshire Ambulance Service station, near Dixons Kings Academy and next to the former Rentokill site - another swath of empty land that has been earmarked for housing.

Grattan's Otto House headquarters was demolished in 2012 and the land, at the junction of Ingleby Road and Northside Road, has been vacant since.

When the company submitted the latest plans for this site earlier this year, they said the company focuses "solely in building low cost homes for people on low incomes in areas of industrial decline and social and economic deprivation."

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It added: "The proposed residential development would make a significant contribution to the Council’s housing supply and, importantly, the Council’s required five-year housing land supply targets."

Two, three and four bed homes will be included in the new estate, but the company says including "affordable" housing would make the entire development unviable.

Bradford Council would normally require for at least 25 per cent of houses in developments like this to fall into the affordable housing category.

A report to Councillors says: "The applicant has stated that the development cannot incorporate the provision any affordable housing as this would make the development unviable.

"In support of this the applicant has submitted a Financial Viability Appraisal that has been independently assessed and has concurred with the conclusion that the development could not support the provision of any affordable housing without have a significant impact on the viability of the proposal."

There had been five objections to the plans - some coming from staff at the Yorkshire Ambulance Service station opposite the site.

Steve Smalley, service delivery manager at Yorkshire Ambulance Service, said: "The traffic and parking situation is already very difficult during the Dixons Acadamy drop off and pick up time.

"With the introduction of the proposed 167 new properties this would just cause even more traffic in the area which would potentially compromise our response of emergency vehicles to life threatening emergencies."

Another objector claimed the site should be used as a cemetery rather than a housing development. Planning officers have responded to that objection saying: "The application under consideration is for a residential development scheme. Other possible uses of the site may be considered more suitable by members of the public but these cannot be used as a reason to refuse an application."

Council highways officers have not raised any concerns about the plans, and suggest a Traffic Regulation Order is implemented to restrict parking on Northside Road, as well as a yellow box junction at the junction of Northside Road and Ingleby Road.

Proposed conditions of the development include that each house on the site include an electric vehicle charging point.

The committee meets in City Hall at 10am on Thursday.