Housing plan for former school site rejected

Branshaw School in Keighley closed in 2010

Plans to build 20 homes on a former school site have been rejected due to out-of-date planning documents and a lack of affordable housing in the project.

Branshaw School in Keighley closed in 2010 and over the years became a hotspot for anti-social behaviour, so the building was recently demolished.

A developer submitted plans for the "high-quality" homes earlier in the year but Bradford Council rejected them, also citing concerns about trees and biodiversity.

The school was originally closed due to a special education reorganisation by the local authority.

Since then, planning permission was approved for housing in 2013 but the work never started, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

The latest application said: "The objective is to utilise the site and obtain outline permission for 20 dwellings and to recognise the level of investment required and positive contribution this will make towards housing supply within the district.

"The provision of a high-quality standard of residential amenities for future residents of the site and the safeguarding of the living conditions of neighbouring occupants."

The reasons the council gave for rejecting the plans included a lack of information on drainage on the site and the ground condition documents being years out of date.

Referring to the ground conditions report, planners said: "A report has been submitted in support of the application and has been assessed by the council's environmental health officer.

"The report was produced in 2012 and is therefore 13 years out of date.

"It does not provide an accurate current position with regards the site in terms of the ground conditions."

Residents also raised concerns about the potential "lack of tranquillity", views being obstructed and there potentially not being enough local school places if a housing development went ahead.

However, planners added: "School census data indicates that there are likely to be sufficient local primary school vacancies to accommodate a development of this size."

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