PLANS for a housing development on the site of recently demolished high rise flats in Bingley have been approved by Bradford Council.

Social housing provider Incommunities first revealed plans to build 81 houses and 12 flats at the Crosley Woods site in 2019.

The site had once been home to three multi-storey blocks of flats - Adelaide House, Brunswick House and Peel House. But Incommunities had said there was little demand for this type of property, and the flats have recently been demolished.

The application for the site’s re-development has now been approved, despite concerns that it may harm the character of the neighbouring Leeds Liverpool Canal.

Three quarters of the properties on the site will be affordable dwellings.

The 12-storey flats that were once on the site loomed over the Leeds Liverpool Canal, while the planned two to three storey housing would be much less conspicuous.

However, heritage officers at the Council had objected to the plans, saying the housing was closer to the canal banks than the flats were, and that the removal of some trees would cause harm to the Leeds Liverpool Canal Conservation Area.

It would introduce a “suburban form” in the area, and the development would cause “substantial and unjustified” harm.

End of Bradford’s tower blocks? Meeting hears of low demand for district's high rise flats

Approving the scheme,planning officers said: “The development will help to improve the sustainability of the site by removing undesirable, poor quality flats in large high-rise residential tower blocks and their replacement with a mix of higher quality two and three-bedroom houses and flats, with all houses including private gardens and being more family-focussed accommodation than is currently the case.”

Referring to the concerns raised by heritage officers, the planning report said: “The proposed development will be of significantly less height and scale than the previous residential tower blocks, which will reduce its visual prominence in longer distance views.

“Although the dwellings will be closer to the canal than the tower blocks, tree cover and vegetation along the canal side will be largely retained, with additional tree planting, shrubs, and wildflower planting of the earth-filled retaining structure maintaining a green buffer between the development site and conservation area.”