Plans for more than 100 homes on a greenfield site in New Farnley appear to be no closer to receiving the green light, as council planners and the developer continue to discuss the proposals.
Developer Redrow already has outline permission to develop the site off Whitehall Road and submitted detailed plans last September, which include internal road layouts and housing design.
Redrow recently revised its plans from 126 houses on the site down to a total of 121 units, comprising 117 houses and one block of four flats.
The latest report published by council planning officers says the site has been allocated for housing in the council’s Site Allocation Plan blueprint and that development is supported in principle, subject to all other material planning considerations.
But the report – by principal planner Sarah Hellewell – raises a number of points which Redrow will still need to meet if they’re to achieve full planning approval.
Ms Hellewell says the mix of housing types earmarked for the site have not yet changed sufficiently to be considered acceptable. She adds:
“At this stage as the housing mix is not considered acceptable then the affordable housing breakdown cannot be agreed.”
Developers have also been told there is not enough on-site green space and that the proposals will need to change again before they are supported.
In March, more than 80 people packed into New Farnley Community Centre to debate the proposals with council planning officers. The plans attracted hundreds of objections at outline planning stage.
Realistically, 121 houses is still far too many for the site. The housing will be extremely expensive. It will devastate the wildlife that thrives in the field. The surrounding roads will not be able to support the increased traffic. The local schools are already overextended. We have one shop and a fish and chip shop, there’s no dentist or doctors surgery and the bus service is sporadic at best.
Leeds City Council have declared a climate emergency and yet it allows developments like this one to decimate the green spaces it should be protecting.