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A draft document that sets out where in Bradford 33,670 homes should be built over the next 17 years has been published.
Possible housing sites have been revealed in the Draft Local Plan, which runs to 1,290 pages.
These include the former Drummond’s Mill site in Manningham, sites off Dockfield Road in Shipley, and a large site opposite Forster Square Retail Park.
When could they be built?
After years of delays, the latest iteration of the plan has now been revealed, and provides sites where housing and employment developments should be built between now and 2043.
It is a blueprint for development in the district, but does not guarantee that a planning application for these sites will automatically be approved.
A previous draft of the plan was published by Bradford Council in 2021, but has not been adopted.
The new draft will go out to public consultation later this month.
33,669 new homes and 30,000 jobs
The lack of a Local Plan has been one of the biggest issues facing Bradford Council in recent years.
Without an up-to-date blueprint of where development should take place, developers have been able to pick and choose sites across the district.
The lack of a Local Plan has also made it more difficult for the council to refuse planning permission for major housing schemes.
The new draft local plan includes dozens of sites that could provide up to 33,669 new homes and 110.5 hectares of employment land, supporting an estimated 30,000 jobs.
Mass Transit latest
One big change since the last draft of the Local Plan is that proposals for a Mass Transit system linking Bradford and Leeds have now moved forward.
The draft plan says the proposed tram system, will make Bradford city centre a “highly attractive location for significant investment and development.”
What next?
Around 70 per cent of the housing allocation sites in the document are in urban areas, and the council says it has a “brownfield first” approach.
Next Thursday, Bradford Council’s Executive will be asked to approve the publication of the Bradford District Local Plan, paving the way for a six-week period in which residents, businesses and other organisations can make formal representations.
All local planning authorities are required by law to prepare and maintain an up-to-date Local Plan for their area.
What Bradford Council has said
A statement from Bradford Council said: “The identification of land in the Local Plan does not grant planning permission for development.
"Any proposals for individual sites would still need to go through the usual planning process, including the opportunity for residents and other interested parties to comment on planning applications.
“The Bradford District Local Plan has now reached what is known as the Regulation 19 stage.
"This is the formal publication stage before a Local Plan is submitted to the Government for independent examination.
“Unlike earlier stages of consultation, Regulation 19 is not a general consultation on alternative options.
"It gives people and organisations the opportunity to make formal representations on whether the proposed plan meets the relevant legal requirements and whether it is 'sound'.
"Those representations will then be considered as part of the independent examination process, which is run by an appointed Government Planning Inspector.
"The council's role at this stage is to process the representations to make sure they can be considered in this process.
“Bradford's Green Belt covers around 65 per cent of the district.
"While the council has sought to maximise the use of brownfield and other suitable land, some Green Belt land would need to be released to meet identified housing and employment needs.
"The proposed release for housing in the Local Plan represents around 1.17 per cent of the district's total Green Belt area.
"If the decision to publish the Local Plan is approved by Executive, a six-week Regulation 19 consultation would run from 19 October to 30 November.
“The plan and representations are then expected to be discussed at the meeting of the Full Council on 9 December before being submitted to Government for independent examination."
'We need more homes'
Councillor Andrew Judson, Bradford Council's Executive Member for Economy, Regeneration and Planning, said: “Having an up-to-date plan gives us much greater ability to shape where development happens and to resist inappropriate development, rather than leaving the district more exposed to speculative proposals.
"This plan seeks to strike the right balance.
"We need more homes, including affordable homes, land for businesses to grow and invest, and the infrastructure needed to support our communities.
"At the same time, we need to protect the green spaces, landscapes, heritage and natural environment that make our district special.”