Pudsey mills homes plan to go before Leeds council decision makers

The application for 21 homes at South Park Mills, Hare Park Lane, Pudsey, already has outline planning permission from Leeds city Council, but the reserved matters application is set to go before this week’s south and west plans panel meeting.

It follows concerns expressed by a Leeds City Councillor who claims the number of houses and the layout could have a detrimental impact on the area’s character.

The proposal involves a mix of two and four bed houses with private rear gardens and off-street parking.

It would also include public open spaces, as well as improvements to nearby green space and footpaths.

But, in a letter to the panel, local councillor Simon Seary (Con) said: “I am concerned about the increase in traffic this development will create, and therefore the impact on highway safety.

“This development lies within the green belt. The layout and design are not characteristic of a rural green belt locality and the character of the area will therefore be impacted upon.

“The increased demand on local services has not been fully considered within the current plans.”

A report by council officers stated that, as the site was included in the council’s recently-published site allocations plan, none of the reasons were strong enough to outweigh the presumption in favour of granting permission due to national planning policy.

The report concludes: “The proposal offers good quality design and a layout that responds to the sites constraining steep ground levels whilst offering good levels of green-space.

“It is considered the proposal will provide good levels of habitation in an attractive and secluded setting. The housing proposed would act to improve the quality of the area above that of the existing industrial buildings.

“It is recommended that planning permission be granted subject to conditions set out at the head of this report and with the already secured s106 that requires the affordable housing provision, on-site green-space and the maintenance of Hares Lane.”

A decision will be made at the council’s south and west plans panel on Thursday, October 3.