A Guiseley charity is celebrating winning a seven-year fight to find more land to build homes on for the elderly.

Aireborough Flower Fund Homes began its search for a suitable site for more bungalows in 1996, spurred on by a waiting list of people urgently in need of re-housing.

But the group has faced an uphill struggle, with suitable land proving scarce, expensive and in high demand.

Now, however, it has paved the way to start building five new properties off Howson Close, in Guiseley, next spring.

The charity's planning application for the scheme has just been received by Leeds City Council, and treasurer Eric Waite is hopeful it will be approved without any complications.

He said: "We are obviously very pleased and really hope that the application will go through.

"These homes are badly needed and will be for people who are over 60 and residents of Aireborough.

"I've only been involved in this for about three years and it had been going quite a while before I joined the organisation, so it's been a long, long time coming.

"The problem has quite simply been finding decent land in Aireborough to build on, and it hasn't been easy - even negotiations about this site have been going on for a while.

"We should know before the end of the year if we've got permission or not. We don't anticipate any problems - but you never know with planners, so fingers crossed!"

The new homes, which will increase the group's total number of properties from 21 to 26, will be semi-detached, one bedroom bungalows.

If the planning process goes smoothly the charity hopes they could be ready for use by the end of next summer.

Leeds City Councillor Makhan Thakur (Con, Aireborough) said he was delighted - both for the charity and for local residents, who have been experiencing some problems on the site.

He said: "I think this is wonderful news because we are very short of these types of property in the area, and there is an obvious need for them.

"This is an old garage site with some disused buildings, and some youths have been playing there and getting up to trouble, selling drugs and so on, so it's been a problem in the past.

"But I don't think anyone will have any objections to Flower Fund Homes building there. And in terms of its position it's ideal, because it's close to another old people's complex."

Fellow Conservative Aireborough Councillor Graham Latty also welcomed the news, and said he was confident the plans would be approved.

He said: "I'm very pleased because they have had problems with the council and about costs with this piece of land, which they've been trying to get for nearly two years now.

"It is good news that those problems have been resolved because Aireboro-ugh is very, very short of suitable properties for older people and these new bungalows will be very welcome.

"I can't imagine there will be any objections to the plans, certainly not from any of the Aireborough councillors."