Campaigners in fight to get Green Belt sites removed from Local Plan

A public consultation on the document, which sets out where in the District around 30,000 homes should be built between now and 2038, ends on Wednesday.

And the proposals that have arguably caused the biggest outcry is the allocation of Green Belt sites in the South East of Bradford for thousands of homes and numerous business developments.

The area is in the Bradford South East section of the Local Plan, and includes Tong and Holme Wood, much of Wyke, half of Little Horton, a small element of Wibsey, plus a large proportion of Bowling and Barkerend.

A huge bulk of the sites in this area allocated for housing lie in the Green Belt East of Holme Wood, North of Tong Street and West of the Leeds boundary.

An "urban extension" to Holme Wood would see 296 houses built off Ned Lane.

And land North of Tong Street would be allocated for up to 1,158 homes and ten hectares of employment land.

Hundreds of possible housing sites proposed as Bradford plans for next 15-20 years

The draft plan says: "There are clear opportunities to raise the bar in housing and employment design and quality in this strategically well located area of south Bradford and strengthen the Tong Street as a gateway into the urban area."

It also reveals that Holme Wood will be prioritised when allocating stops for a planned West Yorkshire Mass Transit system.

The multi billion pound system would link major towns and cities in the region, and is currently in the very early design stages. Early maps of the proposed network have listed a South Bradford stop - but the Local Plan hints for the first time that the stop will be in the heart of Holme Wood.

Once approved, the Local Plan will set out where in the District the 1,700 homes a year needed to meet Government targets are built.

The land has long been eyed as an area of expansion for the city - with plans for the widening of Tong Street and a new link road seemingly paving the way for future developments.

But one group is determined to get Bradford Council to scrap any proposals to allow housing to creep onto Green Belt.

Save Tong and Fulneck Valley have opposed the scheme from the start, and when land in the area was included in the first stages of the Local Plan the group handed over 4,000 objections to the Council.

After a renewed campaign over 1,000 people have already objected to the proposals for this area of the District, and campaigners have raised £7,000 to fight to prevent the sites from being included. They have also hired a solicitor who helped with the recent action that led Leeds Council to drop dozens of Green Belt sites from its local plan.

Which city centre sites have been allocated for housing in Bradford's Local Plan?

Main concerns raised by the group include the loss of Green Belt, possible flooding caused by concreting over green space and the environmental impact of developing thousands of new homes in the area.

Julia McGoldrick, one of the campaigners in the group, said a major concern was the loss of the strip of Green Belt land separating Bradford and Leeds.

She also criticised the fact that the Local Plan consultation would entirely take place during lockdown - and the online only consultation may have disenfranchised many.

She said: "It is not acceptable to leave large parts of the community unable to object."

Unable to hold public meetings, the group decided to hold Facebook Live events to inform people about the consultation - with one event attracting over 600 viewers.

She added: "We'll be sending the Council a very, very detailed response to the consultation from our solicitor."

She argues that the recent case that saw Leeds forced to drop Green Belt sites from its housing allocations set a major precedent. She added: "The Council has not demonstrated any exceptional circumstances to build on protected Green Belt and the last remaining space between Bradford and Leeds.

"So many people have spoken about the value of getting out in this space during lockdown and how it has saved their mental health."

The Local Plan sets out developments until 2038, but Mrs McGoldrick argues that with the unknown long term impact of both the Covid pandemic and Brexit on the country, the Council should instead focus on a much shorter period. She added: "The world has changed so dramatically, and we don't know what the impact will be. Focus on the next five years and focus on developing brownfield sites first."

Bradford Council has said that 3,500 people have already responded to the consultation.

To comment on the local plan visit bradford.oc2.uk/

People can phone 01274 433679 during office hours or email planning.policy@bradford.gov.uk if they have problems accessing the consultation or if they have any questions about the Local Plan.