A POTENTIAL battle royal between residents of Ilkley and Bradford planners could be avoided by consultation over future development in the area.

When the next Unitary Development Plan (UDP) is produced planners want to avoid the massive outcry which accompanied the last one. They have set up a series of community meetings to seek the public's views about the future of housing, transport and planning in the district.

Ilkley Civic Society chairman Bob Tilley attended one of the meetings at Ilkley College last weekend to discuss the future of Wharfedale. He applauded the move to defuse conflict when the next planning blueprint for the future is produced in 2001.

During the last UDP public inquiry it cost around £5,000 to hire professional planning consultants and lawyers to fight Bradford's proposals, an expense Mr Tilley would not like to see repeated.

He said: "This time there will be a lot more consultation up front and when it gets to the barristers, Bradford will be fighting the developers, not the local community."

He praised Bradford Council for trying to build bridges into the community although he said that many of the development needs of the area were still open to question.

"We don't need employment sites in Ilkley and the estimates of housing numbers are a nightmare - everyone is producing different numbers," Mr Tilley said.

The chairman of the housing and environmental protection committee, Councillor Jim O'Neill (Lab, Odsal) said he endorsed Mr Tilley's comments.

Coun O'Neil said: "Any UDP housing strategy needs to have community support across the whole district."

He said Bradford was committed to regenerating 'brownfield' sites for housing to help protect the green belt.

"The council is committed to consulting and involving local communities and other interested groups in the future of housing, transport and planning in the district," said Coun O'Neil.

He also acknowledged that a lack of prior consultation over the last UDP led to conflict with planners and local communities in the district.

"We are going out to explain the difficulties we have and we are listening to the communities and I would welcome that. Feedback from this consultation period and the follow-up community meetings will help shape the way forward for these important issues which shape the whole district," said Coun O'Neil.

People who missed the meeting and want s to contribute to the consultation exercise could call their local ward councillor or Bradford's housing strategy manager, Mick Johnson, on (01274) 754454, or planning officer Andy Haigh on (01274) 754050.

The three meetings will be followed by a series of discussions in local communities at the autumn meetings of the neighbourhood forums and parish councils.

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