Hundreds object to plans for homes on green belt

Plans to build almost 300 homes on a green belt site have received almost 450 objections in less than a week.

Barratt Homes and David Wilson Homes have jointly submitted a planning application to Bradford Council for 295 houses on green space off Fleet Lane in Queensbury.

The site lies within the green belt, but the application claims the land should be classed as grey belt as it "does not strongly contribute to green belt purposes".

The application has received 465 objections and eight supporting comments since it opened to public consultation on Wednesday.

Describing the benefits of the plans, the application states: "The development of the site will deliver a £30.6m construction investment to the Bradford area over a five-year build period."

The 11-hectare site extends from Fleet Lane to Old Guy Road, and is currently made up of a series of fields, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

The land is included in Bradford Council's draft local plan, which sets out locations for future housing and grey belt land has fewer protections than green belt land.

This site is the largest of the nine housing sites proposed for Queensbury, and the draft plan says about 260 homes could be built there.

According to the plans, the estate would include a mix of housing from one to five-bed properties.

The developer said 59 of the 295 homes would be allocated as affordable, and there would be three play areas on the estate.

The applications said the development would generate more than £7m a year of spending power for the local retail and leisure economy.

"This level of investment will deliver a wide range of direct and indirect economic benefits to the area, stimulating employment growth during construction.

"Following the construction of the development new employment opportunities will be created and existing facilities/services sustained as a result of the spending patterns of new residents within Queensbury and the wider local area."

A decision on the planning application is expected in July.

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