Residents still have concerns about plans for major housing estate

Last Summer an application to build 146 homes on a field to the South of Rooley Crescent, near the M606, was approved by Bradford Council, despite a huge amount of opposition in from residents of the area.

The application, by Caddick Land, had an unusual path to being approved.

The field that will be built on

Originally an application for the site was refused by the Council's Regulatory and Appeals Committee in 2020, with members highlighting the fact that the site was a minimum of 400 metres away from the nearest bus stop, raising concerns over possible land contamination and claiming the nearby road network was not adequate to cope with extra traffic.

Caddick appealed this decision, but a planning inspector dismissed that appeal. However, in doing so, the inspector said the Council's reasons for refusal were unreasonable. Instead they argued the applicants had not done enough to ensure there would be affordable housing or suitable drainage in the scheme.

They agreed to award Caddick Land costs relating to the appeal - although the value of these costs has yet to be disclosed.

Controversial plans to build 146 homes on green space in South Bradford are approved

Caddick then returned with a revised scheme for the site which they said addressed the inspector's concerns. That second application was approved in June.

Early work has now started on the site, and residents who objected to both previous applications feel the Council made a mistake in granting the plans.

Speaking to the Telegraph & Argus, Saqib Shah, whose house will overlook the development, said he had concerns over how the scheme would link to a proposed Park and Ride.

The South Bradford park and Ride is a multi million pound Bradford Council scheme that will see a car park for hundreds of cars, and a bus service to ferry drivers to the city centre.

The access road to the park and ride will also be the main access for the new estate.

Until that park and ride is built, access for the 146 homes will be via a new road created through the demolition of derelict 74 Rooley Crescent.

The house that will be demolished to create an access road for the new site

Mr Shah feels that this access is not suitable for such a huge estate, and with no clear start date for the Park and Ride, fears it may be the sole route into the estate for years.

He said: "We don't know how this park and ride is going to pan out. I feel the whole scheme should have been deferred until they have more certainty about the park and ride. This will be the only access road and will see about 250 cars going back and forth."

Gwyn Llewellyn, another resident, said roads around Rooley Crescent already had problems with traffic, and he described the local amenities as "shocking."

Residents also felt the Council should have asked Caddick to carry out an environmental impact assessment, as the land and areas around it have a history of being used as landfill.

And they claim that contractors have been using Dean Beck Avenue to access the site - going against the conditions of the approval.

Sheila Brennan said: "A lot of residents have lived here since the 1970s, they want to retire in peace. The Council haven't thought about their emotional wellbeing."

Referring to the claim that the application should have included an environmental impact assessment, a Bradford Council spokesman said: "Both planning applications were assessed for an Environmental Impact Assessment against the relevant legislation (the Town and Country Planning (Environmental Impact Assessment) Regulations 2017).

"It was concluded that an EIA wasn’t required. When the appeal was submitted against the refusal of the first planning application, the Planning Inspector agreed with the Council’s opinion there was no requirement for the Applicant to submit an Environmental Impact Assessment."

On the complaint that development traffic was using Dean Beck Avenue, against the conditions of the approval, they added: "As part of the construction plan submitted by the applicant they have advised that construction traffic should avoid Dean Beck Avenue and we have received complaints that construction vehicles are using that road.

"Dean Beck Avenue should not be used and we will be speaking to the Developer to ensure they direct all future traffic along Rooley Crescent."

Referring to resident's concerns that the lack of progress with the Park and Ride could mean the only access to the estate would be via 74 Rooley Crescent for a number of years, the Council said: "The access road created through the demolition of 74 Rooley Crescent is considered to be acceptable in highway terms to satisfactorily accommodate the amount of traffic likely to be generated by the development.

"There is on-going consultation in to the Park and Ride scheme and there is currently no timescale on when the scheme will be completed."

The Telegraph & Argus has attempted to contact Caddick Land for a comment.