Eastburn residents have vowed to fight development plans until the bitter end.

Taywood Homes intends to build 198 houses in fields near the village, which presently contains around 340 homes.

Local opposition has grown since the plans - which have not yet been passed through Bradford council's planning committee - were announced.

The main grounds for objection are that:

the development would almost double Eastburn's size

the already-overloaded sewerage system may not be able to cope

traffic would increase

the local school and other amenities would not be able to take an expanded population.

About 60 residents attended a public meeting organised by opposition Conservative councillors on Tuesday night.

Worth Valley councillor Kris Hopkins, who has fought and is fighting similar planning applications in his ward, advised villagers. "You have got to fight applications like this on a technical ground," he told them. "Just because the sewerage system is insufficient to accommodate this application does not mean it won't return to the application system."

He suggested the villagers turned their attentions to the issue of vehicle pollution. "The other thing to be aware of is the practical angle," he declared. "You need to write to the planning office and committee and express your views."

He brought 500 council-approved objection forms to the meeting and urged people to complete them. "It does require that you knock on people's doors - not the whole of Eastburn is here tonight," he said. "You've got to make the effort. Every time you have the opportunity to respond, you must respond."

He said villagers must keep fighting any proposals, because he believed Taywood would reapply with reviewed plans if they were initially rejected.

His views were echoed by Craven councillor and Steeton and Eastburn parish council chairman David Emmott. "The reason I've called this meeting tonight is to make a bullet for us to fire," he said. "Taywood Homes are a massive firm and they mean business."

He supported Cllr Hopkins' view that persistent letter writing would eventually wear planning officers down.

An action group of volunteers was set up.

Elizabeth Hutchinson, who lives on Fern Bank and has lived in the village for 31 years, has joined the action group. She says: "It is just too big - they can build houses, but there are far too many to take into consideration for what's going on in the village. At the moment 25 houses are being built in front of my house. I don't mind them - that's what I call natural growth."

Villager Bernard Wilson, who attended the meeting, says: "If these houses are built, there's going to be no distinction between Eastburn, Steeton and Utley."

Opinion, page 10

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