PLANS for a 156-home development in Silsden are likely to be approved by a council panel tomorrow.

Proposals for housing on the former Riverside Works site in Silsden were first approved in outline form in 2018.

At a meeting of Bradford Council’s regulatory and appeals committee tomorrow, members will decide whether to approve a full application for the site.

The originally-approved housing scheme was to clear the site and build 142 houses.

None of these homes would be classed as affordable, and because of this the developers would have been required to pay almost £350,000 to Bradford Council to fund affordable housing schemes elsewhere.

The new, more detailed application contains some differences. Now the plan, from the Lindum Group and Yorkshire Housing, is to build 156 houses on the site.

And all the homes would be classed as affordable.

Members of the committee, which is meeting online tomorrow morning, will be advised to approve the application.

The 5.8 hectare site lies between Keighley Road and Sykes Lane, near the Leeds and Liverpool Canal. The land used to be home to a weaving mill which was demolished in 2013.

Since then there have been plans for a supermarket, filling station and sports pitches - although those proposals fell through.

The latest application is for a variety of different housing types, 34 per cent will be two-bedroom, 64 per cent three-bedroom and five per cent four-bedroom units.

The houses would be made available for a mix of affordable rent, shared ownership and rent to buy tenures - all of which are classed as affordable housing. There would also be an area of public open space to the south of the site.

Six people have objected to the plans, with concerns ranging from the traffic impact on Keighley Road, the need for a bypass in Silsden and claims the site would be prone to flooding.

One objector asked what happened to three listed buildings on the site, to which a planning officer has replied: “There is no record of any listed building ever occupying this site.”

The site is near the Silsden Conservation Area, and the council’s conservation officer has raised some concerns over the plans. They said: “The (applicant’s) submitted statement suggests an appreciation of the need for exceptional quality of development here, but unfortunately the layout and building design fails to make this a reality.”

But members will be advised to approve the plans. A report to members says: “The proposal provides a satisfactory form of residential development addressing the full requirements of those matters reserved as part of the outline planning permission.

“The proposals are considered to be acceptable and present no concerns with regard to residential or visual amenity and highway safety or impacts on the adjacent conservation areas.”