A ROW has broken out over how many houses planning bosses want developers to build on sites in Ilkley.

Ilkley's Design Statement Group wants rigid rules imposed by Bradford's Unitary Development Plan (UDP) changed to suit different areas.

But planners have warned that if the rules are changed to decrease the number of houses on each site, more pressure would be put on the green belt surrounding the area for the extra houses.

In the UDP, Bradford's planning blueprint for the next 15 years, it states that planning permission will only be given to builders prepared to build between 30 and 50 houses per hectare.

The condition is now being challenged by Ilkley Design Statement Group and developers at the public inquiry into the UDP at Victoria Hall, Saltaire.

This follows a pronouncement by John Prescott, the Deputy Prime Minister and Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions.

The chairman of Ilkley Design Statement Group, David Cartwright, said: "We simply cannot understand the council's attitude on this issue.

"In public consultations before the Ilkley Design Statement was written, over 90 per cent of respondents made clear their concern that the density of new developments should reflect the surrounding townscape.

"The council has been most supportive of the Design Statement and have followed up its proposals for conservation areas very promptly.

"The Keighley planning panel agreed only last month that it should be a material consideration in planning applications which impact upon the appearance and ambience of Ilkley.

"We find the council's stance on the density issue incomprehensible and extremely disappointing.

"All we seek is some flexibility to allow planners to take account of the density and other characteristics of surrounding areas when considering planning applications."

But Ilkley Councillor Anne Hawkesworth, who is Bradford's environment boss said: "Bradford Council is committed to retaining the green belt whilst managing the release of housing sites identified in the UDP.

"Inevitably, this position has brought challenges from a number of developers who want to build on green sites in the district.

"Higher density construction on allocated housing sites is one way in which we aim to meet Government targets whilst safeguarding the release of any more land."

Coun Hawkesworth said that the guidance issued by John Prescott applied to the whole of the country but the Design Statement Group disagrees, claiming that it only applied to the south east, allowing planning authorities in the north to make up their own rules about housing density.

Coun Hawkesworth added: "Every effort is being taken to be flexible within the national guidance laid down by the Government and the council has set out how this was done in its evidence to the inquiry.

"I am very conscious that some developers are not interested in the numbers adding up as this would mean the green belt would not hold. The concern is, we locally, could score an own goal."

But the Ilkley Design Statement Group still maintains that the characteristics of the surrounding area should be taken into account when housing densities are fixed, and whether the housing site is in the urban or country area.

Mr Cartwright said: "They propose to take the same approach to housing densities in the rural areas and the suburbs of Ilkley as in inner Bradford."

The Department of the Environment inspector will rule on challenges to the UDP at the end of the inquiry which is expected to last another six months.