DETAILED plans to build 36 homes on a greenfield site off Marton Road, Gargrave, have been lodged with Craven District Council.

Following an exhibition of the plans in Gargrave Village Hall last year, attended by 60 households, builder RN Wooler and Co has submitted a full application.

Access to the homes, 30 per cent, or 11 of which, will be affordable, will be off Marton Road, if the planning application is approved by the council. A new pedestrian access is also planned through the cul-de-sac, Walton Close. An existing footpath runs along the southern perimeter of the site.

The site is allocated in both the Craven Local Plan and the Gargrave Neighbourhood Plan for a residential development of around 44 homes; but the Gargrave Action Group says the land should never have been allocated as such, is next to a high flood risk area, is not sustainable in terms of transport links and has a difficult junction at Marton Road and Church Street.

The parish council also has concerns about increased numbers of pedestrians using the narrow footpaths on the river bridge and would like to see a new footbridge downstream.

In its submissions to the council, Wooler says the majority of the 36 homes, 16, will have three bedrooms, 12 will have two bedrooms, six will be four bedroom, and the remaining two will have just the one bedroom.

Wooler says following comments received during its consultation exercise, it has adapted its original plans including increasing the number of affordable homes from 10 to 11 and increasing the number of smaller, two and three bedroom properties.

It says it has also increased 'green infrastructure' on the site to 'soften the built form' and also states that 'options for improving traffic conditions locally and making Marton Road safer for all road users are being explored.'

"Given land ownership constraints along Marton Road, our client is not in a position to provide improvements to footpath provision along the road. However, options for improving traffic conditions locally and making the road safer for all road users, particularly pedestrians, are being explored. Options with the objectives of reducing speeds by way of signage, gateway features and other traffic calming measures are being considered and will be discussed with North Yorkshire County Council highways and the project team."

It adds: "The proposals do not just involve the creation of new dwellings, it also involves the creation of a beautiful, landscaped scheme of gardens and open space that ensures that the proposed development sensitively interacts and integrates with the wider landscape and surrounding built landscape."