Plans for 701 new Leeds homes could get go-ahead this week

Plans to build 701 homes in Leeds are expected to be approved this week.

Templegate Developments wants permission to build everything from two-bedroom apartments to five-bedroom houses on a former coal mining pit, which is next to Skelton Country Park.

Leeds City Council is expected to approve the planning application at a meeting on Thursday, July 18, despite concerns about loss of woodland areas and large increases in traffic.

The plans are the second phase of a wider project to build 1,800 homes.

Planning permission for the first phase of the project, which includes 1,100 homes, a new school and local centre, was approved by the council in 2017.

Interactive map shows where thousands of homes will be built in Leeds city centre - CLICK HERE

Council planning officers say the site which has been earmarked for the huge development is 'not at present an accessible or sustainable location', but if developers follow strict planning conditions and invest in local infrastructure then they can 'create a new community with appropriate access to services, public transport and education.'

It could also take up to two years to install a development platform, to make the former coal mine suitable for housing.

If approved, all drivers will enter and exit the site via the north, near junction 45 of the M1, but a council report says Highways England are 'content that there will be no harmful impact' on the motorway.

The developers have also agreed to invest £300,000 in making improvements to nearby roads to ease congestion and say there will be a shuttle bus link that runs to and from Temple Green Park and Ride.

They will also be required to make 15 per cent of the homes affordable housing.

It is not yet clear how many parking spaces will be provided as part of the project, if it is approved.  

However, the council report states the massive development 'will result in the loss of some strategic green infrastructure and cause some harm to the semi-rural setting of the site and its surroundings'.

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