Object

Representation ID: 28564

Received: 23/03/2021

Respondent: Bradford District Ward Councillor (Conservative)

• Firstly it is disappointing that none of the sites listed for Baildon are brownfield when I understood there was a “brownfield first” policy.
•I was surprised to see you are calling for new sites for gypsy and traveller pitches when there is a site in Esholt (in Baildon ward) which always tends to be less than half full.
•I fail to understand why a large part of Baildon has been put into Shipley for the purposes of this Local Plan and why all the land below Otley Road, Baildon has been allocated for employment when this potentially could be used for housing instead of using green belt sites in Baildon. This area (which you have labelled “lower Baildon”) has established housing (e.g. Airedale Place, Briar Rhydding) so additional housing wouldn’t be out of place here.
•The housing target for Baildon is set at 250 units, less 81 which have already been granted planning permission which brings the total number to 169 and yet the identified allocations in this plan total 217. I appreciate this is not an exact figure but given what has happened in the past few years there will likely continue to be smaller infill sites put forward for one or two properties plus we have the uncertainty over the future of the Ian Clough Hall site which could potentially provide 60/70 residential flats. It therefore seems over cautious to include 217 allocations for Baildon.
•We also have the issue of Baildon being considered for “low density” housing (30-40 dwellings per hectare) when your figures on housing types show that Baildon currently has an above average number of detached and semi-detached homes and only 15.7% of our housing is terraced, compared to a West Yorkshire average of 30.7%. This means first time buyers and young families have very limited options to live in Baildon so surely this plan should seek to address this. I was also informed by a Bradford Council Planning Officer that “national policy requirements highlight the importance of making the best use of land and the housing need in the district means that decisions on planning applications are made on the principle of avoiding homes being developed at low densities.” Therefore if we looked at “medium density” (41-50 dwellings per hectare) this would again relieve pressure on the green belt plus also supporting the Council’s desire for “affordable housing”.