A BRADLEY woman has spoken out against proposals for a new neighbourhood plan which has identified three village fields as future housing sites.

The fields are located in Ings Lane, Matthew Lane and Skipton Road.

"I have a major concern because it looks to me like we'll be surrounded by houses," said Liz Haigh, of Raines Drive. "They've plonked them down in the the middle of the village.

"The fields where these houses would be are the only green bits left. If you start building a lot of houses it'll take the heart out of the village."

Mrs Haigh, who has lived in the village for over 30 years, also said that more houses in Bradley would not only create increased traffic, but cause more parking problems.

"People now park on both sides of Main Street, which makes it like a one-way street," she said.

Bradley parish councillor Derek Booth said the council's locality committee began talking about creating a neighbourhood plan in April 2013, and under powers of the Locality Act 2011 a new Bradley plan has been drafted.

In about two weeks time, the committee will circulate a draft of the plan, along with a questionnaire, to all residents.

"The Localism Act has given parishes more power," said Coun Booth, who chairs the locality committee. "It gives us a stronger voice in housing development. We were the first community in Craven to put forth the idea of a neighbourhood plan."

Ward councillor Patrick Mulligan said: "Bradley is in quite a good position compared to a lot of other communities. They've been working on a thorough neighbourhood plan, so they're a step ahead of the game."

Coun Booth said Bradley's local plan differed from Craven's in that the district council's document – which was under consultation until Monday – identified two fields in Bradley that could accommodate a total of 30 houses.

Craven's proposal for a field in Ings Lane is for 13 homes and another in Matthew Lane is for 17 houses.

Bradley's local plan also identifies these two sites, but asks for roughly half the number of new homes.

However, Bradley's plan also identifies a field at Skipton Road as a possible development site.

Coun Booth explained: "Access around the village is difficult, so choosing sites on the periphery means not as much traffic will have to come through the village."

Coun Mulligan noted the importance of Craven District Council getting a local plan in place, which gave clear guidance for planning applications.

He also said that having a neighbourhood plan gave villages like Bradley a chance to work with Craven on where to site new homes.

"A big issue for a lot of communities has been development and planning applications, because if there is no local plan in place you get several plans going in all at once," he added.