Miller Homes Development – Breary Lane East and Leeds Road

Planning Update – Miller Homes Site

At a meeting held on 9th November LCC’s South and West Plans Panel agreed to ‘defer and delegate’ Miller Homes application ‘to officers, in consultation with ward members’. This includes decisions on access, highways, the siting, appearance and scale of buildings and the landscaping of the site. Cllr Billy Flynn spoke to the panel on behalf of the parish council.

A further meeting was held on 15th November with LCC’s planning and highways officers, representatives from Miller Homes, ward councillors and parish councillors. At this meeting significant progress was made including agreement on the following:

• LCC Highways will monitor traffic flows on The Poplars to assess the need for any future traffic management measures.

• subject to confirmation from Metro, bus shelters will be stone with a shingle roof.

• grass verges on the A660 and the site approach road will be planted with daffodils.

• Spring Wood will be extended to the north with no public access into this ancient woodland.

• Parts of the site will be included in a Biodiversity Enhancement and Management Plan and areas such as the duck pond will be left ‘natural in appearance.

• An underground storage tank and ‘balancing pond’ will be required for storm water storage.

• The car park at ‘Bramhope Park’ will contain some disabled parking spaces with parking limited to one hour.

• The Local Equipped Area for Play (LEAP) can be removed should there be problems with anti-social behaviour

• The dry stone walls will be built adjacent to the A660 and along the approach road, with those walls to the north and east of the orchard conserved.

• The ‘green conservation area character’ housing will now be used at all locations around the edges of the development and also for the convenience store.

The parish council would like to see more tree and hedge planting in and around the site, including standard trees and evergreens for immediate impact, and to reflect the rural fringe setting of the development. It has also been agreed that there will be further opportunities for the parish council to comment on the detailed landscape plans.

The parish council are concerned about the lack of affordable housing for the elderly and have asked for some of the dwellings to be allocated to the over 55s. There are also concerns about the effects of the convenience store on the viability of the local shops. However the store is to be built as the planning inspector gave permission with the view that it would make the site more sustainable.

Construction of the access roundabout is not expected to take place before May 2018. This is expected to take around 9 months with the method of construction aiming to keep disruption on the A660 to a minimum. Housing construction will possibly start in early 2019.

As outline planning permission, which cannot be withdrawn, was granted by a planning inspector last year, the Parish Council have been working to achieve the best possible outcome for the residents of Bramhope.

Miller Homes Reserved Matters Application – Deadline for Comment 2nd June 2017

(update 07/05/17)
Further to the letter to all residents regarding the Reserved Matters Application submitted by Miller Homes, residents can now submit any comments on the application in three ways:

via the website at https://publicaccess.leeds.gov.uk/online-applications/ and then searching for 17/02312/RM. You will need to register your name, address and email address before you can comment.

by writing to Planning Services, Leonardo Building, 2 Rossington Street, Leeds LS2 8HD

by email to Department.of.Planning@leeds.gov.uk

When writing or emailing please include the planning application number 17/02312/RM and supply your name and address. Anonymous comments are invalid.

The deadline for all comments is 2nd June 2017.

A copy of the letter to residents and the main drawings showing the layout of the site can be found on the links below;

Letter to Residents – Miller Homes 4 May 2017
17_02312_RM-ILLUSTRATIVE_LAYOUT-1906250
17_02312_RM-LANDSCAPE_MASTERPLAN_REV_A-1906123
17_02312_RM-PLANNING_LAYOUT-1-500_A0_SHEET_1-1906153
17_02312_RM-PLANNING_LAYOUT-1-500_A0_SHEET_2-1906154
17_02312_RM-PUBLIC_LANDSCAPE_AREAS_LAYOUT-1906147
17_02312_RM-STREET_SCENES_1-1906205
17_02312_RM-STREET_SCENES_2-1906218
17_02312_RM-STREET_SCENES-1906160
17_02312_RM-BOUNDARY_DETAILS-1906219

The parish council is in the process of considering their response to Miller Homes detailed application. Below is a summary of the issues which it has been considering.

A traffic scheme to mitigate ‘rat running’ on roads such as The Poplars should be implemented before the roundabout is completed.

Roads signs and street lighting should be kept to a minimum to reflect the rural fringe setting

Bus shelters should be constructed of stone with a shingle roof cladding.

All grass verges to be planted with daffodils to replace those destroyed by the construction of the roundabout

Support the northern extension of Spring Wood

The removal of the footpath from the ancient woodland of Spring Wood is supported

Advocate the extension of Spring Wood to the south

A planted buffer zone of 15m is required on the western boundary of Spring Wood.

The trees and bushes adjacent the duck pond should be retained and the area left ‘natural’ in appearance

Support the provision of a pond at the south of the site which should contain water at all times to support aquatic species

A second or larger pond is preferred rather than an underground storage tank

The car park should be removed to encourage walking to the ‘park’

The construction/replacement of a dry stone wall adjacent to the A660 and the approach road to the development is supported.

Support the conservation of the dry stone wall to the north of the orchard

Advocate the conservation of the dry stone wall to the east of the orchard

Support the provision of a 5 metre planted buffer zone to the rear of the gardens of all the houses on Breary Lane East, Creskeld Lane & High Ridge Way, but this should include larger trees 5-6m in height and evergreens for immediate impact

The provision of a more substantial buffer of trees and hedges, including some evergreens and standard trees, around all the site boundaries is required in order to reflect the rural fringe setting of the development which is also adjacent to the green belt

There is a need for more roadside planting within the estate

The ‘green conservation area character’ housing should be used at all locations adjacent to the Bramhope conservation area, including High Ridge Way.

The ‘green conservation area character’ housing should be used adjacent to the approach to the development

The convenience store, if built, should also reflect the ‘green conservation area character’ style.

All views, when approaching the development, should be of the ‘green conservation area character’ housing

The ‘urban core character area’ housing is inappropriate as it does not respect the setting of a large development located on the rural fringe and adjacent to the green belt

The Parish Council’s full comment will be published on the website following the next Planning Committee Meeting on 10th May 2017.

Update January 2017

Residents will be aware that Miller Homes have been successful in their appeal against Leeds City Council’s refusal to grant planning permission for a development of up to 380 houses and a convenience store on the land bounded by Leeds Road and Breary Lane East. Millers have been granted outline planning permission by the Secretary of State subject to 33 planning conditions.
Even though it overrides significant local opposition and the policy of Leeds City Council, there is no realistic prospect of overturning the decision. The decision can only be challenged on legal grounds, and Leeds City Council has decided not to exercise its Right to Challenge as it is felt it would be futile.

Your Parish Council will work with the Ward Councillors to represent local views to Miller Homes and to the Highways and Planning Departments of Leeds City Council (who will have a significant impact on the details of the scheme) in order to mitigate the unwelcome aspects of the scheme and obtain the best possible outcome for the village within the confines of the planning consent.
The Parish Council held an extraordinary meeting last Thursday to review in detail the initial proposals put forward by Miller Homes at the consultation event on 5th January. The Council agreed: • to submit a detailed response to the proposals, identifying actions to improve the visual and environmental impact of the screen and expressing particular concerns over the proposed roundabout • to seek advice from our professional advisers on the scheme • to meet representatives of the Highways and Planning Departments of Leeds City Council at the earliest opportunity • to seek an early meeting with Miller Homes and their local representatives to ensure that Miller Homes recognise the importance of engaging with the Parish Council to address local issues.

The Parish Council wishes to hear the views of residents; in particular, whether the Parish Council should object to the proposed convenience store. Please contact the Parish Clerk or use the form on the Parish Council website (where there is further information).

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