A MEETING about where the 70,000 proposed new homes for Leeds should be built will take place this week.

The Development Plan Panel will discuss the latest proposals on Friday, June 26, as the next step in preparing a Site Allocations Plan.

The Local Development Framework recommends splitting the city into 11 housing areas and developing 70,000 new properties in three phases, up to 2028.

Locally, that would mean more than 1,100 new homes for Otley alone - a 20-plus per cent increase in the town's size that would include the loss of several green fields.

The Otley-based ODD campaign is sceptical about how much Friday's meeting will achieve.

An ODD spokesman said: "The release put out about this does not include the word 'sustainability', and the plans for Otley are not sustainable.

"It also does not give any indication that the issues raised by the ODD campaign, and supported by a petition signed by 2,227 Otley residents, have had any effect.

"We would like to have seen a meaningful commitment about not building substantial numbers of additional houses without ensuring adequate infrastructure is in place first.

"In Otley, this concern is particularly focused on traffic congestion and our poor transport links with the main centres of employment.

"The overall impact of the Local Development Plan on Otley traffic should be the subject of an independent assessment.

"If Otley is to be sustainable in the future more people need to live and work in the town - the current plans do not recognise this."

The city council, however, points out that it has rejected 618 proposed sites so far, including 409 in the Green Belt, as being unsuitable for development.

And Councillor Richard Lewis (Lab, Pudsey), Leeds City Council's executive member for Regeneration, Transport and Planning, insists the public can still influence which sites will take the new homes.

He said: "Even though this has been a long process I would assure people they will get the chance to have their say later this year when we expect to go out to further public consultation.

"At this point, everyone can give their views on the sites identified for possible new housing.

"I would appeal to everyone to take the time to look at what we are trying to do in a fair and reasonable way.

"In order to help our city develop all communities need to be open to having some new housing, although we say again our focus is very much on brownfield first and protecting our countryside.”

The draft Site Allocations Plan is expected to go out to public consultation in the autumn.

The agenda and report for this week's meeting can be viewed at http://bit.ly/1LkYwqe .