A government inspector’s decision to refuse permission for 34 houses in Horsforth will be detailed to councillors this month.

Residents were overjoyed when the inspector upheld Leeds City Council’s decision to refuse permission for the development on Outwood Lane.

Campaigners from the Cragg Hill and Woodside residents group used a postcard image of the area dating back more than a century as part of their campaign against the Redrow scheme.

The reasons for the decision to reject the appeal will be given in a report to Leeds City Council’s Plans Panel South and West on Thursday, January 9.

Members will be told the eight reasons given for refusal included loss of potential green space and the scheme’s impact on the conservation area.

In her report, the inspector Kath Ellison says: “This is not an easy site on which to bring forward residential development.

“It is subject to several designations which recognise its value with regard to heritage, openness and biodiversity.

“It is also located within a community whose members have expressed very clearly and, often, eloquently, their support for each of those designations.”

She recognised that the proposal was within the spirit of current national policy but added: “However, whilst I accept that the proposal would deliver a number of benefits, particularly with regard to housing, I consider that they would not be sufficient to outweigh the considerable costs which would be imposed on the historic and natural environment.”