More than 3,000 new houses are proposed for the Ilkley area as part of a Bradford Council development strategy.

A report due to be published today suggests 1,300 new homes need to be built in and around llkley itself by 2028, to meet Bradford District housing needs.

The same report, expected to go before a Bradford Council scrutiny committee next week, recommends the building of 500 houses in Burley-in-Wharfedale, 900 in Menston and 400 in Addingham.

Council planning officers prepared the proposed core strategy for district development for the forthcoming Local Development Framework (LDF), the council’s official planning policy.

The LDF replaces the old Unitary Development Plan, and could be adopted as official policy by mid-2013.

Bradford planners recommend 45,000 new homes should be built across the district by 2028. The proposals come after consultation and technical studies looking at projected housing need, and the district’s infrastructure.

But local ward councillors are already criticising the proposals.

Councillor Chris Greaves (Ind, Wharfedale) fears the local infrastucture will not be able to cope, particularly with a major influx of commuters working in areas such as Leeds – where a new enterprise zone is being created.

“I think it’s going to be completely unworkable,” he said.

Ilkley ward councillor, Anne Hawkesworth, (Con, Ilkley), said: “It is rather a frightening prospect. On the face of it these figures indicate a 15 to 20 per cent increase in the ward.”

Bradford Council planning strategy manager, Andrew Marshall, said there were several stages of consultation to come.