Another meeting over Leeds homes and health centre plan in East Ardsley

Members of Leeds City Council will once again consider landowner Sean Cunningham’s proposals for 21 homes, a medical centre and a retail unit - hoped to be a chemist’s – at land off Fall Lane and Meadow Side Road in East Ardsley on Thursday.

The outline application was recommended by council officers for refusal when it was brought before the South and West Plans Panel last month, but the decision was delayed to clarify various issues.

A report drafted for members attending the upcoming meeting reads that an issue with previous housing layouts regarding three-bed homes that could “feasibly” described as four-bed because of a plans for a “study” has been overcome because the latter spare rooms are now planned to be smaller.

This had been a problem because planning policy aims to ensure new housing is of a range of sizes.

It is also no longer felt that plans for units to be three storeys would matter, partly because them being any smaller would make them appear “squat” compared to surrounding buildings, the report says.

And the site is also already considered “well served” by green space.

Outline plans for the wider site area were approved in 2001, and this application relates only to the final 1.5 acres, Mr Cunningham said.

Previous plans for the village, which has no GP surgery, did not proceed after a developer pulled out.

Mr Cunningham said: “Hopefully we’ve assessed all the issues and we can make progress on something that’s been going on for 17 to 18 years.”

It has been recommended that the plan in its revised form be deferred and delegated for approval subject to conditions.