RESIDENTS and politicians have been forced to renew their fight against plans for 124 homes on a greenfield site in the district.

Campaigners celebrated last December when the application from Persimmon Homes was rejected by Bradford Council planners.

But they have now learned that the company has lodged an appeal with the Planning Inspectorate to have the ruling overturned.

The proposed site of the development is Occupation Lane, near Oakworth Road, in Keighley.

Last night, a councillor said he thought it was unfair that decision-making would be taken away from local people and given to a Government department hundreds of miles away.

Cllr Adrian Farley, who represents Keighley West Ward on Bradford Council, said: “The appeal process seems to go against the concept of localism – it’s taken out of the hands of local councillors.

"The original decision was based on them knowing the area. If the decision had gone the other way, then local residents wouldn’t have had a right of appeal."

Cllr Farley said there was huge opposition to the application, adding: "It’s not the usual ‘not in my backyard’, it’s genuine traffic and access concerns.”

Council planning chiefs originally turned down the Occupation Lane development because it would create unjustified access to the junction of Wheathead Lane and Oakworth Road, without any new measures to control extra traffic.

They were also concerned residents of the new estate would try to use a second access along on unmade-up Occupation Lane.

Fellow ward councillor Brian Morris accepted that Persimmon had a right to appeal, but hoped the Bradford Council refusal would be upheld by the planning inspector.

He said: “It’s a bad idea to put housing there. It’s the last bit of green on that side of town. There’ll be housing all the way up to Oakworth.

“We don’t want this development, so we will fight it. I will do everything I can to support the residents.”

Occupation Lane resident Robert Whitworth, one of the original objectors, said: “If Persimmon build a new access from Oakworth Road there couldn’t be much of an objection.”

He said an application for just two houses in the area was turned down in 2010 on appeal because the Planning Inspectorate felt existing access arrangements – similar to those in Persimmon’s application – were not suitable.

Former town mayor Margaret Ward, another local resident, said people were not against the principle of new housing off Occupation Lane, so long as more suitable access was created to Oakworth Road.

She said the currently-proposed access, along Camborne Way and through the Nessfield/Wheathead Lane neighbourhood, would add greatly to existing traffic.

She said: “Everyone is trying to drive from the existing houses on to Oakworth Road – it’s a nightmare at the moment.”

Keighley housing campaign group Bandag said the Occupation Lane application was refused last December due to issues raised by local residents and “very real” problems with access to the site.

Spokesman June Newell said: “That should have been the end of the matter. It’s high time that when a planning decision is refused on valid grounds then that is the end of it - no further appeal should be allowed.

“Developers know full well that councils cannot afford to fight these appeals due to the high legal costs involved, and planning permission then follows.”