RESIDENTS and local organisations in Addingham shared their thoughts at a meeting last week about making representations to a Government planning inspector in hearings regarding Bradford Council's Local Plan next month.

As communities prepare for another series of meetings regarding revisions to the central Core Strategy of the planning rulebook for Bradford district, Wharfedale residents have been planning how they will represent the views of the local community.

The meeting in Addingham was organised by Wharfedale Alliance for Sound Plans (WASP) campaigners, who want to prevent overdevelopment in the valley, and was chaired by Craven ward councillor, Jack Rickard (Con, Craven).

It was attended by members from groups across Wharfedale, as well as a number of district councillors.

It included discussion on what local representatives should submit to the inspector on the main modifications to the Core Strategy, brought in after hearings a year ago included increased housing figures for much of the valley.

WASP member, Jackie Thompson, recently drew up a critique of Bradford Council's current Local Plan.

She attacked the local authority's deputy leader, Cllr Val Slater, who claimed last September that the issue in the district is that developers wan to build houses in greenfield areas of Airedale and Wharfedale instead of in Bradford, where affordable housing is needed.

She claims Bradford district does not have the 'exceptional circumstances’ required under the National Planning Policy Framework to justify building on greenbelt land, and claims the council had effectively assisted developers to target green sites, instead of discouraging them from targeting land in areas such as Wharfedale.

And she attacked the council's figures for new homes said to be required in the district by 2030.

She added: "The council claims that by 2030 more than 42,000 new homes will be needed to house its growing population. This isn’t true.

"Department of Communities and Local Government (DCLG) and ONS projections show the number of households is likely to grow by just 28,000 between 2015 to 2030 [the lifetime of the Local Plan].

"So the council is planning a shocking 14,000 more homes than are required."

The new hearings will begin on May 17.