TWO areas of Bradford have been identified as "future growth locations" for West Yorkshire - meaning they could see major housing and employment developments in the coming years.

West Yorkshire Combined Authority has refreshed its "Spacial Priority Areas" - a blueprint of where in the region future residential and employment growth should take place.

The Authority, made up of five West Yorkshire Councils including Bradford, has not updated its list of SPAs for a number of years.

At a meeting of the Authority's Place Panel last week, members were given an update on the refreshed plan.

Leeds city centre is classed as the "Core City" within West Yorkshire, meaning it will make up the highers proportion of housing growth in the future.

Bradford joins Wakefield, Huddersfield and Halifax as "Main Urban Centres."

In the Bradford District the Canal Road Corridor is classed as an "Investment Location" - a site where future housing and employment development should be encouraged.

Impact of 10,000 new homes on Calderdale is discussed

Shipley and Keighley are identified as two towns that are prioritised for regeneration - tying in with the £25 million Towns Fund announced late last year.

The document also identifies areas across West Yorkshire as "Future Growth Locations" that could see large scale residential developments (of over 1,000 homes) or employment developments over 15 acres in size.

In Bradford there are two such sites identified - Apperley Bridge/Esholt and Holme Wood.

Just over the Bradford border in Calderdale, Brighouse is identified as a regeneration site, while the planned garden village to the North East of the town is identified as another investment location for housing and employment development.

The Calder Valley is identified as an area of "Environmental Opportunity" - where work can be done to tackle environmental issues. Work in this area could include tree planting and peat restoration.

The Combined Authority says the refreshed plan was drawn up as the previous priority areas "were no longer aligned well with our strategic policy position and did not allow for the inclusion of the priorities being put forward by local authorities."

The new priority areas "reflect wider policy priorities including regeneration and urban renewal, towns fund locations and economic and environmental resilience."

It will also help build cases for future funding bids.

At the meeting Kirklees Councillor Peter McBride supported looking at a West Yorkshire wide plan, pointing out that some urban areas spread through different districts - referring in particular to the areas around Batley and Brighouse, which spread into Kirklees, Calderdale and Kirklees.

He pointed out how . He added: "A lot of these areas cut across borders. The more we can think like that the better."

Councillor Lisa Mulherin from Leeds City Council said: "Clearly some areas can't be looked at in isolation. We have to look at how developments in some areas impact the neighbouring area. Things like traffic flow at an employment development in one area has an impact on the neighbouring area."