A proposal to transform a green belt equestrian facility into a residential development has received the green light from Bradford Council.
John Stubbs sought consent to knock down several farm structures at Harrop Farm, situated between Wilsden and Harecroft, and construct dwellings on the land instead.
While the scheme indicated five properties would be created, the submission merely aimed to determine whether residential development would be permissible on the site.
A separate application specifying the exact number of properties would be submitted subsequently.
Objections raised
Wilsden Parish Council advised rejecting the scheme, arguing the work would leave a cluster of properties isolated within the Green Belt.
Transport specialists also doubted whether the location could accommodate five dwellings.
However, council planning staff suggested that a modest development might actually decrease the built area on the site.
They gave the go-ahead to the outline proposal, stating that any determination regarding the acceptable number of properties would be made at a later date.
The proposal details
The submission stated three barns on the site would be torn down to make room for the new properties.
The submission argued that the design would prevent any expansion into the rural landscape beyond the farm’s current developed boundary. It explained that the scheme would substitute large portal-frame barns with compact two-storey houses, reducing overall scale and volume. The submission therefore claimed the scheme constituted the reuse of previously developed land within the Green Belt. Consequently, it argued the development should not be considered inappropriate, as any impact on openness would be minimal and clearly offset by the advantages of delivering five family homes in an appropriate location.
The reasoning behind approval
In sanctioning the scheme, planning staff emphasised that this was merely an outline submission. They indicated it was evident that a residential development could be realised with a reduced volume compared to the structures it replaces. They noted that if this were accomplished, the development would not compromise the openness of the Green Belt to a greater degree, though this would require verification during the reserved matters stage when the size, volume and massing could be assessed against the existing buildings on site. They acknowledged that the Highway Officer had raised concerns about the scheme, though these related specifically to the consideration of five units. Although an illustrative layout showing five properties had been provided, they noted the submission did not specify a number of units at this stage and this would need to be addressed in a future reserved matters application. They suggested that developing the site with fewer than five properties could probably be achieved without detrimental highway safety consequences.