A MAJOR redevelopment of the former Silver Cross site in Guiseley looks set to be approved in the near future after planners decided the scheme was "almost there."

Although the application to build housing and offices on the former factory site has been deferred, councillors have made it clear that they are not opposed to the proposals.

Council officers will now hold discussions with the Woodford Group in an attempt to modify the proposals so that planners feel able to accept them.

The developers have already scaled down and amended their plans for the site, on Back Lane, several times because of concerns about the scheme among planners.

But at a meeting of the Leeds Plans Panel West last week the consensus among councillors was that the scheme was not far away from being acceptable.

Councillors heard that the scheme - incorporating 48 two bedroom flats, two one bedroom flats, and 43 three bedroom houses, as well as a two storey office block - was much smaller than that originally put forward.

The number of homes being proposed has now been reduced from 140 to 93.

A spokeswoman for the Woodford Group, Sue Ansbro, told the meeting they had been working with officers, members and local residents to try and find a scheme which would be acceptable.

And she said they believed they had now found a scheme - much reduced from the original proposals - which was acceptable to all.

"This truly is the best solution we can achieve," she said."

The company, which will offer Metrocards to residents, has also agreed to set aside 25 per cent of the accommodation as affordable housing - although the panel was told these will be all apartments rather than houses.

The panel also heard from a Guiseley resident Mike King who stressed he was not convinced that all the concerns of the local residents had been addressed.

He told members the high density of the scheme would set an unhelpful precedent in Guiseley.

And he took exception to the assertion in a report from officers that the site was served by a wide range of transport options.

"If you told the residents of Guiseley that they had a range of public transport modes they would laugh at you," he said.

"To talk about Guiseley having a range of public transport modes is just plain wrong."

Coun Stuart Andrew described the scheme as a "huge improvement from the starting point that we had."

And he suggested a reduction in the level of affordable housing to make it possible to reduce the size of the blocks.

But other councillors warned about cutting the level of affordable housing, whatever the potential benefits in terms of reduction in size.

And Coun Neil Taggart told the panel it was important to get the balance right when it came to the issue of density, which was high on this particular site because of the number of apartments.

"This is a brown field site," he said.

"This is not some field full of wildlife and cattle. It is a contaminated industrial site."

He stressed: "We should not allow Guiseley to be preserved in aspic. It is a big enough place with a big enough heart.

Coun Brian Jennings told the meeting he believed the scheme was about right now.

"We can always quibble at the edges - but I think we are there now," he said.

Coun Colin Campbell stressed the need for affordable housing and argued that some of it should be in the form of houses rather than just flats. He also called for more green space within the scheme.

But he said: "We have talked about this a number of times. Each time it comes back it gets better. I would say they are nearly there."

Members agreed to defer the item to allow negotiations about reducing the hard landscaping within the site and increasing the green space.

Councillors are also asking for a mixture of affordable housing rather than just apartments.