A DEVELOPER hoping to transform a vandal ravaged riverside mill site is vowing to fight on after being refused planning permission.

Horsforth Riverside LLP hoped to build around 150 homes and enough industrial units to create 150 jobs at Riverside Mills, on Low Hall Road.

The 19-acre works site has sat empty since it closed in 2001, and has been vandalised, targeted by thieves and occupied by travellers.

But Leeds City Council's principal planning officer Martin Sellens told Plans Panel (West) last week that there were four main reasons to turn down the scheme.

He said: "The reasons are - this is not actually an urban area; it's poorly served by public transport so residents would be primarily dependent on the use of private cars; traffic and access concerns; and flood risk, for which we don't have sufficient information to satisfy the Environment Agency.

"It is a brownfield site...but on balance the concerns outweigh the positives."

A highways officer added that access proposals to put traffic signals between Calverley Lane South and the ring road would only add to congestion.

Most of the panel, including Councillor Brian Jennings, agreed the site simply wasn't sustainable. "Residents would be totally dependent on the use of the car," he said, "this area is nearly cut-off from the rest of the world!"

Councillor Ann Blackburn said: "The flood risk is a very significant problem and they haven't given sufficient ways of counteracting it.

"There are a number of problems here and I don't really see there's an alternative but (to refuse)."

Councillor Ann Castle (Con, Harewood), however, was more ambivalent. She said: "We need new dwellings, I don't want us to be building on the green belt.

"This is a pretty ugly site at the moment and just about anything that could be built on it would be an improvement. But all the reasons for refusal are valid."

Speaking after the meeting, Andrew Bruckland of Horsforth Riverside LLP said: "The decision to refuse our outline planning application is obviously disappointing.

"We were pleased to note that the authority accepts there are advantages to our proposal. We now need to consider our position.

"It is recognised that the site can not be mothballed forever. We believe our proposals to bring this site back into a viable beneficial use are reasonable - offering both the return of employment for up to 150 people and the creation of 150 new homes.

"Our proposals also sought to address the potential for access to the site through a package of measures, including improvements to the junction with the ring road, that would have benefited other existing industrial and residential occupiers in this area.

"Our proposed development provides a number of advantages in terms of the balance of traffic generation in this area, compared to the potential levels that could be caused by returning the whole of the site to industrial use."

Chemical giant Clariant, whose land adjoins the site, Horsforth and Aireborough MP Paul Truswell, 11 residents and Councillor Chris Townsley (Lib Dem, Horsforth) all objected to the proposals.

But five letters of support were also lodged.

l Horsforth Riverside LLP says it is currently taking action to have travellers evicted from the site.