The Planning Inspectors have issues a programme of hearings to test the soundness of the Leeds Site Allocation Plan for Housing.   The hearings will be held in Leeds and will start on 9th July 2018 and run to 3rd August.  The Programme gives the people who will be attending each hearing to represent different interests.

The Inspectors have issues a list of questions that they want more information on – called Matters and Issues .  Anyone, who has already made a response to the Revised SAP can also make a further submission specifically answering the Inspector’s questions.  There are a number that cover Aireborough, and the ANDF will be answering these.

Dates of hearings and some of the key questions of note are:

10th July – whether the LCC Site Allocation Plan is in line with its Core Strategy – particularly regarding the proposals for ‘Broad Locations’ of Green Belt to meet the Council’s housing target of 70,000 .  In Aireborough this covers, Banksfield, Gill Lane, Coach Road, Top of Ings Lane, Layton Lane, Woodlands Drive.

11th July – the adequacy of infrastructure plans to support the sites that have been brought forward to Phase 1 (2017 – 2023), this includes the Aireborough Green Belt sites – Ings Lane, Wills Gill, Hollins Hill and Victoria Avenue.

17th July – the ‘robustness’ of the Green Belt deletions LCC feel are justified to satisfy their 70,000 housing target. Including whether Broad Locations are justified given that the Core Strategy Inspector required a comprehensive Green Belt Review to ensure the most sustainable locations were chosen. (LCC have not done a comprehensive GB Review but Bradford MDC are doing one.)

31st July – a specific Aireborough site allocation hearing to look at whether the sites chosen are sound.

There will be other hearing covering such topics as compliance with the ‘Statement of Community Involvement’.    The soundness of the sustainability appraisals, and the methodology used in the SAP.

A number of points the ANDF made in our February 2018 response to the revised SAP are covered by the Inspector’s Matters and Issues .

The Site Allocation Plan is being judged against the Council’s housing target of 70,000, where land is being allocated for 66,000 houses – 4,000 houses will be built on what is called ‘windfall’ land ie land that becomes available unexpectedly.  LCC are reconsidering their housing target in a Core Strategy review that has already started,  but this will not progress further until the end of the year.  The ANDF’s inital March 2018 response to LCC’s review of their housing target is here.

All the papers linked to the Inspector’s Hearings can be found on the Programme Managers website here under examination news.