A Pudsey councillor has expressed his concerns over the design of 82 new local authority homes planned for a former school site in Swinnow.
As reported by WLD, members of the south and west plans panel will next Thursday discuss the proposals on the Hough Side High School site at Hough Top. No decision on whether to approve the plans will be made at the meeting, but councillors will discuss the progress of the application and will offer guidance on key planning issues associated with the development.
Issues raised by council planning officers include the design and appearance of the proposals and the highways layout – and nearby residents have already raised their concerns over the proposals.
Pudsey councillor Simon Seary (Cons) is calling for plans to be re-drawn. He said: “I will be attending the plans panel meeting with local residents to express my disappointment that the design of the new proposed development is not to the standard expected.
“I and the residents I’ve spoken to agree that the site needs developing for much-needed housing, but the development needs to be of a good standard and not create more issues than it will address in the area.”
Cllr Seary has concerns over vehicle access and the impact on the junction of Swinnow Lane and the primary school and the single section of road onto Intake Lane.
He added: “The proposed plan has a block of flats and they have designed the development with the block of flats at the front of the development and nearest to the house that directly fronts Hough Top. There’s plenty of room on the site to accommodate this further back without it encroaching.
“The houses along the road edge of Hough Top are not in keeping with the immediate local properties from a material and vernacular viewpoint.
“If this was any other developer, we would demand that they make the necessary improvements, but it appears it’s one rule for one! This is a large brownfield site where the council has a real opportunity to get it right and provide real homes that fit and work for our area.”
The proposal is for a 100% affordable residential development across the site including both houses and apartments. The site would contain 55 houses and 27 apartments, meaning there will be 82 new residential properties proposed.
The proposed two storey houses will be a mixture of two, three and four bedrooms. Each house will have its own parking spaces and private garden space. The proposed three-storey apartment block will contain a mixture of one and two-bedroom units.
The full agenda of next Thursday’s (7 March) meeting can be found here. The meeting starts at Leeds Civic Hall at 1.30pm and members of the public can attend in person. Alternatively the meeting can be watched on the council’s Youtube channel.
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