District council planners are considering proposals to demolish office buildings and construct 12 houses at a warehouse and storage compound in Silsden.

As part of the plans – for the Pennine Playgrounds Waterside Business Park, off Keighley Road – an existing stable premises would be converted into two homes and the remaining new houses would be grouped into two blocks of two properties and one block of six.

The northern end of the 3,000 sq m area borders the Leeds-Liverpool Canal. Vehicle access to the proposed new homes would be via Keighley Road. The applicant has said the two and three-bedroom houses would have provision for 28 parking spaces.

An agent’s design statement accompanying the plans points out that a previous application for 13 homes on the land was withdrawn.

It says the single-storey office buildings, which would be demolished if the latest application was approved, were of low quality and had little market value.

The statement adds: “The site is located on the main Keighley road into Silsden from the south and provides a good link for both public transport and private transport.

“Currently, the land is used for employment and the frequency and numbers of cars accessing it is more than would be for the proposals. The upgraded access will therefore be used less intensively than the existing one.”

The agent also said that the new homes would be built using natural stone and slate to help them blend in with nearby properties.