Contested plans for 121 homes on a greenfield site in New Farnley will be decided by an independent planning inspector and NOT by Leeds City Council.
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.
But more than a year after submitting the application Redrow has decided to appeal against the council’s failure to decide the application.
By law, a local authority has 13 weeks to decide a major planning application after which the applicant can appeal to the Government’s Planning Inspectorate on the grounds of non-determination.
As WLD reported in June, council planning chiefs were locked in talks with Redrow over concerns including the mix of housing types, the lack of agreement over affordable housing and the need for more on-site green space.
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.
Redrow recently revised its plans from 126 houses down to a total of 121 units, comprising 117 houses and one block of four flats.
The latest report published in June 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.