Aireborough land won’t be built on for sure, says councillor (From Wharfedale Observer)
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Aireborough land won’t be built on for sure, says councillor
12:50pm Friday 20th April 2012 in News By Annette McIntyre
Concerned residents are being reassured about the fate of land throughout Aireborough which is set to be considered for possible housing sites.
Leeds City Council’s Strategic Housing Land Availability Assessment (SHLAA) is compiling a list of land which could be suitable for future building.
But Guiseley and Rawdon councillor Graham Latty is stressing that inclusion in the SHLAA does not inevitably mean the land will be built on.
He said: “In the course of the current campaign, I am being asked about the SHLAA and the land around our ward being “put into it”. The impression is that this is almost a guarantee that the land will be built on. This is far from the truth.
“The Council is required to form a register of available sites to decide how much land is available in Leeds to take the houses that are going to be needed to house our ever-growing population. Land can be registered by a developer or the Council.
“The SHLAA is like a bucket into which all these pieces of land are put, and when the process is complete, the sites will be sorted and only those pieces of land that are suitable and will be needed will go into the Leeds Plan.”
“It is suggested that we in Guiseley and Rawdon, with parts of Horsforth and the Otley and Yeadon ward, in an area to be known for this purpose as Aireborough, will have to find room for 2,300 houses over a 16-year period. This is a requirement, not a choice, but what is not being said is that from that figure we can deduct houses that already have permission – Moons Fields, Springhead Mills, etc – which will considerably reduce the numbers required.
Coun Latty and colleagues have been campaigning for a neighbourhood forum of local people who will have the opportunity to formulate a Neighbourhood Plan to allow them some say in where development takes place.
He stressed: “Every corner of Leeds is having to face the prospect of finding room for homes to be built. It might not be much consolation, but believe me, some parts have a bigger challenge than we have.”
