Bradford planning boss's house proposal 'ridiculous' - panel

One councillor said it would be impossible to build the proposed three-storey house on the land

An application by the boss of a planning panel to build a house on a narrow patch of land has been described by council colleagues as "ridiculous".

Councillor Arshad Hussain submitted plans for the 13ft (4m)-wide house between two other homes in Bradford.

Labour's Mr Hussain, who heads the Bradford Area Planning Panel, was told by a planning officer there was "pretty much nil chance" of it being approved.

After hearing of concerns over the "cramped" house, he withdrew the plans.

Mr Hussain is chairman of the authority's planning panel, whose members make decisions on planning applications across Bradford.

A nearby resident told the meeting the plans looked like a "letterbox stood on its end"

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, he attended a meeting on Wednesday of the Keighley and Shipley Area Planning Panel which was to consider his application to build the three-storey detached house on Nab Wood Street.

He was told that officers had recommended it be refused for five separate reasons, including the fact the garden would be located in the greenbelt and the house would be a "cramped and incongruous form of development".

They also pointed out there was no detail about what impact the development would have on trees or biodiversity.

'Letterbox stood on end'

Planning officer Lucy Fillingham told the committee: "The property would be very narrow - very different to the other houses on the street.

"The neighbours to either side would look out on a very tall, austere brick wall. The development potential for a new house on this site is pretty much nil."

Adrian Lyles, who lives next to the site and who spoke at the meeting, said plans for the property looked "like a letterbox stood on its end".

"I'd be looking out onto a solid brick wall," he added.

Mr Hussain told the panel he had commissioned surveys to look at issues raised by planners and asked members to defer a decision until they were complete.

Councillor Arshad Hussain withdrew the application at the end of the hearing

But Councillor Marcus Dearden told the hearing it would "set such a bad example" if it was deferred.

"This shouldn't be here, it is such a ridiculous application," he added.

"It is impossible to build a three-storey house on land that wide. There are so many reasons for refusal, deferring this won't help."

Mr Hussain subsequently withdrew his application.