PLANNING approval has been given for two houses off Albert Road, Cross Hills, despite claims by the parish council that the road is used as a rat-run.

Craven District Council's planning committee heard that the application had been amended to two three-bedroomed houses instead of the block of four houses initially proposed.

Four letters of representation had been received on the amended plans.

They voiced concerns over the strain the additional dwellings would have on the sewerage system, the colour of the building materials, increased use of traffic on a busy road and the state of the road surface which residents claim is in need of "radical repair".

Although committee members approved the plans for the two houses, they refused a further application for six dwellings on land on the other side of the road which currently houses 22 garages.

The applicant, Ken Robinson, said the garages were in a dilapidated state and described them as "a blot on the landscape in Cross Hills".

He said the proposed plans would provide affordable dwellings for local residents and, in turn, would improve the outlook on the area.

A letter from the agent to the council outlined plans to make up the roadway to adoptive standards at his client's expense.

But planners felt the additional traffic resulting from the two blocks of two and four dwellings would be detrimental to the area because of the unsuitability of the access roads' gradients, widths and junctions.

It was also felt the proposal would result in the loss of parking facilities and could lead to additional parking on adjacent roads.

In addition, planners refused two applications in West Lane, Sutton.

The first for two detached dwellings at Little Croft, to the western side of West Lane, was refused because it was outside the development limits of the village and was not a site which had been allocated for residential development.

The second, to convert Stubbing Hill Barn to a dwelling was dismissed on the grounds of road safety. It would have been accessed from West Lane.

The committee agreed with the officer's recommendation that the existing access was unsatisfactory as the required visibility onto the county highway could not be achieved.