Draft Bradford District Local Plan - Preferred Options (Regulation 18) February 2021

Object

Representation ID: 4205

Received: 23/03/2021

Respondent: Burley Bridge Association

Burley in Wharfedale should not be categorised as a local growth centre. It has almost no employment (largest employers are the schools and the Co-op!). Given that it was earlier described as a local service centre, it feels as if the categorisation has been switched in order to take advantage of available sites, with the two which are set out here both in the greenbelt.

The number of houses proposed in Burley is out of proportion to the size of the village. The infrastructure will not be able to cope. There is a major concern about the volume of extra cars and the Wharfedale Greenway, whilst very welcome, is a very poor mitigation. Secondary school places do not appear to be addressed in the plan.

Object

Representation ID: 4216

Received: 23/03/2021

Respondent: Burley Bridge Association

The Sun Lane development is entirely in the greenbelt. Although the SoS has granted permission, development here should still be resisted. This scale of development is out of proportion to the village and there is insufficient attention given to infrastructure needs. The Wharfedale Greenway (if ever delivered) will do very little to shift traffic away from the often blocked A65, which will suffer from more housing all along the Wharfe Valley. Most residents are likely to be commuting to Leeds by car.

There is much valued wildlife on the site and this area represents a valuable green corridor down from the moor to the river. We need to preserve all our valuable green spaces. Whilst the switch in the overall plan to more development on previously developed land is noted, more could be done in this respect, especially if delivering much needed social housing.

Object

Representation ID: 4233

Received: 23/03/2021

Respondent: Burley Bridge Association

The building of the existing Scalebor estate was permitted within greenbelt land on the basis that it was previously the site of an NHS hospital. The edges of this were not allowed to be breached and these must now be preserved; there is no merit in housing sprawling into precious greenbelt land here. The roads on the estate are used by children playing; those nearby are not capable of taking on more traffic, or even of supplying proper access to the proposed housing. The top road (which runs alongside the moor) is very narrow, bendy and dangerous. Moor Lane is narrow and leads to the chicane under the railway bridge which is also dangerous when people are impatient.

The recent refusal for the application to build on Scalebor Park Farm was very welcome. The same reasons to decline apply here. I strongly object to this proposal.

Object

Representation ID: 4258

Received: 23/03/2021

Respondent: Burley Bridge Association

The designation of Burley in Wharfedale and Menston as local growth centres is not correct. There is no prospect of employment growth in these areas and new housing will simply provide dormitory homes for people commuting to Leeds. The roads are already very busy and, despite this, many people choose to drive rather than use the train. The environmental and quality of life implications of this extent of new housing development are highly undesirable.

Object

Representation ID: 4269

Received: 23/03/2021

Respondent: Burley Bridge Association

The mix of housing in all new developments needs to be more firmly enforced. We see too many executive detached homes whereas we need a mix of genuinely affordable homes of all sizes, which are innovatively designed to provide good space density with high quality community living designed in, especially for children. Soundproofing between terraced houses and flats of a much higher quality must be demanded in smaller houses, with courtyard developments and eco-village designs. We need much more social housing, and so-called affordable housing must not look any different or be adjacent to the busiest roads. So-called affordable homes should not be able to be traded off between other developments. Bradford Council must take a stronger line on the look and design of housing developments such that developers are not enabled to build lots of detached houses all too close to each other and too big for their plots.

Object

Representation ID: 4283

Received: 23/03/2021

Respondent: Burley Bridge Association

Bradford Council needs to take a much firmer stance on bus services which even pre-covid did not work for many people. Buses don't start early enough and finish too early for many people to be able to use them to get to work or for leisure purposes. Tickets are not integrated and many journeys cost far too much money given the quality of service, especially unreliability and slowness of progress. Buses could be reliable, integrated and environmentally friendly and thereby play a large part in enhancing our communities as well as clean air and the environment. The best route to achieve this would be through WYCA taking public control of our bus services, and thereby delivering good integration with rail and other services. Bradford Council should take a strong stance on this.

Object

Representation ID: 4293

Received: 23/03/2021

Respondent: Burley Bridge Association

It was extremely disappointing that Bradford Council did not take a formal stance against the expansion of Leeds Bradford Airport. The health problems from the noise generated by the big increase in flights, especially over Wharfedale at night-time are well-understood. This of course is alongside the disastrous impact on climate from so many more flights which will render carbon targets entirely unachievable. Please can Bradford Council take its climate responsibilities seriously and acknowledge that an expanded airport will have a large impact on the health of many people living in the Bradford area. This is not just an issue for Leeds City Council.