Plans for 100 homes on Green Belt approved due to ‘grey belt’ planning rules

New “grey belt” planning rules, and Bradford Council’s lack of a Local Plan, have led to plans for 100 homes on Green Belt in Wilsden being approved.

At a meeting on Thursday, Bradford Council approved an application to build 100 homes on land to the north of Harden Lane – land that had been designated as protected Green Belt.

Members of Bradford Council’s Regulatory and Appeals Committee were told that the introduction of “grey belt” policy by the Labour Government meant the committee had little choice but to approve the development.

Introduced in 2024, grey belt policy allows land that had previously been classed as protected green belt to be reclassified, opening the door for it to be developed.

To have land reclassified, developers need to prove that it does not meet all the requirements of the green belt. This includes acting as a barrier to prevent two or more towns from merging, or to protect an area’s historic character.

It was part of the party’s push to get more homes built across the country by cutting planning red tape.

The application had been submitted by Hargreaves Land Limited.

It would see 35 per cent of the homes be classed as affordable and £130,408 provided to improve parks and public play areas around Wilsden.

There had been 500 objections to the application, but planning officers had recommended the committee approve the scheme.

There had been concerns that this development could lead to Wilsden and neighbouring village Harden merging.

But Mike Slater, interim major developments manager, said the development would act as a “modest extension” to the village, pointing out that the land is situated “cheek by jowl” with existing housing.

He said it met all the criteria for grey belt classification, saying: “I have no doubt this is what the Government envisaged what a grey belt site should look like.”

He told members that it was a sustainable development – future residents would be within walking distance of local services enjoyed by other Wilsden residents, and there were good road and transport links to the site.

One objector, Cath Bacon, said the land was a hugely important piece of green belt, adding: “Does this qualify as grey belt?

“My answer is no.”

Councillor Geoff Winnard (Cons, Bingley East) pointed out that this was one of three planned housing developments in Wilsden, and the three of them could see 300 new homes built in a village with “limited infrastructure.”

He said the district desperately needed an up-to-date Local Plan – a document that sets out preferred housing sites and essentially determines where housing should be built.

Coun Winnard added: “Without this plan and its site allocations that give us some degree of control, we are stuck with speculative applications like this that test the green belt to its limit.”

Mr Slater said: “Bradford doesn’t have an up-to-date local plan, and it doesn’t have enough housing land allocated.

“We can’t rely on old policies to refuse this.

“We don’t have a five year supply of housing, we have to provide housing somewhere. As it stands we have an unsatisfactory situation where we will have developers coming forward with housing in Green Belt sites. Until we have a Local Plan in place we don’t have the strength to be more robust in refusing these.”

Referring to the claims that up to 300 homes could soon be built in the village, he said there was no certainty that all these developments would go ahead.

Legal advisor Bob Power said the council was “seriously late” in approving an up-to-date Local Plan.

Craig Woolmer, representing Hargreaves, said: “This will be a logical, natural extension to Wilsden. It will include a substantial financial contribution towards recreation spaces in Wilsden.”

Members raised concerns about the development, but acknowledged that it complied with grey belt policy.

They voted to approve the homes, with five voting in favour and one abstaining.

The application was an outline one to see if the site was suitable for housing. A more detailed application will need to be submitted, scrutinised and approved before any development can start.