A 2,000-signature petition calling for Wharfedale’s green belt boundaries to remain as they are will be handed over to Bradford Council in December.

The petition was started by Ilkley ward councillor Anne Hawkesworth (Ind), in response to concerns about green belt and greenfield land in the valley being earmarked for housing in the Council’s forthcoming Local Plan.

It is expected to be handed over at a meeting of the full Council meeting on December 10.

The publication draft Core Strategy produced by the Council recently has revealed the housing targets for Ilkley, Addingham, Burley-in-Wharfedale and Menston have been cut by hundreds – but still calls for 1,600 new homes in the valley by 2029.

And green belt sites were included in the last Strategic Housing Land Allocation Assessment produced by the Council. These assessments are likely to be taken into account when formal land designations are made as part of the Bradford District Local Plan.

Coun Hawkesworth says the petition, started during the summer, has now collected 2,000 signatures A representative of a group in Menston, one of the organisations in Wharfedale concerned about green belt land being developed, is expected to formally hand the petition to the Council.

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