PROTESTERS against a controversial housing development in Addingham have lost their fight to block it.
And planning officers have been instructed to examine whether traffic-clogged Bolton Road could be turned into a one-way street.
Members of the Keighley area planning sub-committee ordered the feasibility study after granting permission for five houses to be built on land known as The Croft, despite objections.
Addingham Civic Society, the parish council and members of the protest group Addingham Community First had all opposed the plan to build on the half-acre site behind the Fleece public house.
John Hickton, a member of Addingham Civic Society, told the committee that the area could be used for a village play area instead of extra housing.
Mr Hickton said: "The site could be used as a play space for families who live in the properties surrounding it. There is no safe childrens' play space to the north of main street in Addingham."
Annette Jeffrey, of Addingham Community First, told the meeting that traffic dangers on Bolton Road would be increased by the development especially in the light of planned education changes.
Under the Bradford schools review Addingham Middle School on Bolton Road will become the village Primary school with an increase of around 200 pupils.
Mrs Jeffrey said that disabled people and mothers with push chairs would be forced into unreasonable and dangerous manoeuvres to get on and off the footpath created by the new development.
Councillors made a condition of planning permission that new footpaths would have to have dropped kerbs.
Highways officer Brian Hunt told the meeting that no pedestrians or motorists had been injured in accidents on that stretch of Bolton Road in the last five years.
The planning consultant acting for the developers, Andy Rollinson, told the meeting that objectors to the scheme were displaying a natural resistance to change. He said: "I would urge you to grant planning permission as to do otherwise would be indefensible."
After the meeting a disappointed Mrs Jeffrey said she would be contacting Ilkley Labour MP Ann Cryer to voice her concerns. She said: "We are extremely concerned about the situation along Bolton Road. They didn't even consider our primary concern about the new school in Bolton Road. the worry is that this will cause accidents to pedestrians."
The committee made their decision after a visit to the site. Chairman Councillor John Cope (Lab - Worth Valley) said he has asked officers to make a traffic survey in the area and take into account the changes to the school and the prospect of
further housing development at Manor Garth on the other side of Bolton Road to The Croft.
"We asked the highways people to have a look at the village in general to bear in mind what highway considerations there might be," said Coun Cope.
Addingham Tory Councillor David Harrison said he agreed that something should be done with the derelict land but added that he was not fully in agreement with the decision because of the traffic implications.
He said that Bolton Road could be made safer if local
residents did not leave their cars parked on it, and added that any plan to make Bolton Road one-way only was totally impractical.
Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.
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