Councillors yesterday blocked plans to build nearly 140 houses in Oakworth on land between Moorlands Avenue and Occupation Lane.

At the meeting of the Keighley area planning panel at the town hall councillors refused the application on a number of grounds.

Speaking to a packed council chamber councillor Martin Leathley said: "I seldom see a worse application than this. We are faced with six reasons to refuse it.

"I don't think we should waste the committee's time or the public's time anymore and we should refuse this. I move that we refuse it."

Cllr Leathley's motion was seconded by Cllr John Prestage and a unanimous vote against the development sealed its fate.

The proposal was turned down on the grounds of the unresolved highway issues, the detrimental impact on neighbouring homes, the lack of similarity between the proposed buildings and the neighbouring farm building (stipulated in the design brief) and the impact the development would have on the appearance of the valley as a whole.

Council officers and councillors also stated the lack of suitable play areas and the omission of affordable housing in the plan were further reasons for refusal.

An identical plan has been sent to the secretary of state as the developers, McAlpines, making use of a planning law technicality, have already lodged an appeal because the council have not dealt with the application in the permitted time.

The council's reasons for refusal will be included in the consultations during the appeal process.

Councillors also deferred the ruling on a plan to build 71 houses at Wheathead Lane, Exley Head. Councillors stated they had had insufficient time to consider a summary of the imminent drainage study that was released early on Thursday morning.

After lengthy representations from opponents that met with rapturous applause from the public gallery the chairman of the panel, Cllr John Cope said: "The thing that worries me as an elected member is that we have only received the papers about this matter this morning."

He added: "I don't like to being bounced into a decision."

Andy Haigh, the group planning manager of Bradford council's development plan and policy group, told the meeting that the long awaited study into the area's sewers was expected to be published in two weeks.

He added there would be an interim period of six weeks before it would be discussed at committee level.

Chris Wotherspoon, of the Babtie group which is conducting the study, explained that whilst there was evidence of area flooding in the Oakworth Road locality water companies were currently putting property flooding higher in their list of priorities.

He added that the last recorded incidence of this in Oakworth Road was in 1991.

Local sewers campaigner, John Walker, claimed Mr Wothespoon's words had not calmed his concerns.

He said: "The independent survey agrees with all the claims we have made. It's the interpretation that's different."

Alan Foster, chairman of the Wheathead Action Committee, also spoke at length on the predicted increase in traffic if the development went ahead.

Worth Valley Tory ward councillor Glen Miller called for the application to be thrown out or deferred.

He said: "I think Worth Valley has had enough. We have been a dumping ground for long enough and I think we have every right to defer it if not turn it down outright."

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.