Housing Targets, Infrastructure & the Greenbelt

Housing targets, infrastructure and the greenbelt were on the agenda at a special meeting in Silsden.

The town council played host to leading Bradford Council officers who are progressing the district’s Core Strategy for housing and other land development over the next few years.

Councillors quizzed the officers on issues concerning the challenges posed by the huge amount of houses being built in Silsden.

The current version of the Core Strategy calls for 1,200 houses to be built in the town by 2030, and several hundred have already been built or have received planning permission.

Cllr Adrian Naylor, a town and district councillor, said this figure could change because Bradford Council was reviewing targets for all the district’s villages in the light of changes to government housing-needs projections.

When the new targets are issued, they are likely to cover the years up to 2035 rather than 2030.

Cllr Naylor said: “Town councillors were keen to understand the changes in the calculation that the government has put forward, and its implementation for Silsden in terms of the number of houses they’re likely to see.”

Councillors wanted to know whether the updated strategy would take into account housing built since the original strategy had been published.

He said: “They were keen to understand whether houses built in Silsden since 2013 would come of the total of housing Silsden was expected to take.

“The other element was understanding the types of housing Silsden needs. What we’re seeing being built is not what Silsden needs – four-bedroom houses as opposed to affordable starter homes.

“There was also a lively discussion about lack of infrastructure in Silsden. Questions were asked about how this was to be funded.”

Cllr Naylor is among local politicians who have criticised the existing infrastructure in Silsden, such as road networks, education, community facilities and utilities supply.

They have called for improvements to the electricity, water and sewage networks, as well as roads, to help meet pressure on existing infrastructure from the expected influx of new residents.

Councillors at the meeting were also told about Bradford’s greenbelt review and housing needs assessment, which involves consulting 23,000 households across the district.

Cllr Naylor explained that the housing-needs targets could be linked to the council’s economic aspirations for Bradford, for instance building more housing to cater for people taking on new jobs they hope will be created

He added: “Silsden has been invited to a stakeholder meeting to discuss the next moves towards the Core Strategy.”

Several major housing schemes have been approved in recent years for Silsden, including Harron Homes and Barratt developments off Keighley Road on the Steeton side, and a Skipton Properties development on the Addingham side.