Semi-derelict Craven Council-owned garage sites are to have homes built on them.

A total of 14 homes, ten of them affordable, are to be built at sites in Cononley and Glusburn, as well as at High Bentham and Ingleton – despite criticism that the council had let the garages fall into disrepair, leaving no alternative but to redevelop.

The council planning committee was told that in all cases structural reports carried out in 2012 had revealed the garages were in a poor state, had asbestos roofs and posed a potential danger to children playing nearby.

Among homes approved were four affordable apartments and semi-detached houses at Meadowcroft, Cononley, and a pair of semi-detached, three-bedroom homes off Burnroyd Avenue, Glusburn.

An application for a pair of three-bedroom semi-detached homes on land next to Harper Grove, Sutton, was narrowly turned down because it was felt the site was a valuable piece of open space.

Coun David Ireton (Con) suggested the council had failed in its duty to keep garages in a useable state, leaving no alternative but to redevelop the land.

β€œIt is a pity when any local authority lets its property get into such a state,” he said.

Approval of the pair of semi-detached homes on the site occupied by seven garages off Burnroyd Avenue, Glusburn, was given with the condition that alternative accommodation be found for sandbags currently stored in one of the garages.

All applications are in outline and will return to the council for details to be approved.