PLANNING officers are to keep an eye on a housing development in Cowling to make sure builders keep to conditions imposed by Craven District Council.

The council's head of planning, Duncan Hartley, revealed that planning officers were being given permission to take enforcement action against the developers if they flouted the rules.

The decision came at Monday's meeting of the council's planning committee following two applications from builders Britannia Developments to scrap conditions imposed when planning permission was originally granted.

The firm is building new homes on Keighley Road at Cowling and was told back in August that the houses facing the street would have to be built in weathered stone to match homes on the other side of the road.

Britannia was also told that all windows and doors should be made of wood, but it wanted to drop both these conditions.

Councillors visited the site before the meeting and met with Cowling Parish Council chairman Paul Foxley to discuss the issues.

He told the Herald: "Our view was that we would support the council if they felt it would be right to take enforcement action.

"It was the council's decision to impose these conditions and we accepted them, so if it was appropriate back then it is still appropriate now.

"The issue here was that a developer was attempting to ride roughshod over the planning authority."

Planning officers told district councillors that this area of Cowling was labelled as a conservation area and was made up of mainly terraced houses in natural stone which had been blacked by air pollution over the years.

"If new stone was used in those dwellings which would form part of the streetscene it is unlikely that it would weather to the same degree as the stone on the existing surrounding dwellings has done," said a report.

But Britannia argued that new housing sites should have their own unique identity.

"It is similar to Greenwich Borough Council requesting the Millennium Dome to be painted mucky grey, as that is how it will look in 10 years after being exposed to London pollution," it said.

"We believe that it is far better to allow the stone to blacken naturally."

The company also stated that putting in UPVC windows and doors instead of wooden ones would be better for residents because they were low maintenance, provided good sound proofing and better insulation.

Councillors voted not to scrap the conditions but said they would allow the developers to install steel insulated doors with a wood effect finish.

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