A PLANNING application has been submitted for 104 homes at a Guiseley site which is at the centre of a court battle.

Wills Gill is one of four areas of greenspace which Aireborough Neighbourhood Development forum is fighting to defend from development.

The group has launched a legal challenge to Leeds City Council’s site allocations plan. The claim was heard in the Royals Courts of Justice last week and a judgement is expected sometime after February 27.

The planning application from Avant Homes proposes properties ranging from one to five bedrooms at land off Wills Gill. The developer says more than 35 per cent of the dwellings are accessible and could be used for older people and independent living.

The application says: “The site has been allocated for housing in the Leeds SAP and therefore the principle of

development has been established. “

Among their concerns campaigners are worried about the increased risk of flooding from developing the sites. But the developer says the the majority of the Wills Gill site has a very low susceptibility.”

The application adds: “However, the topography of the site is such that any flooding from this source is likely to be directed away from the site. The proposed development will not increase flood risk to the wider catchment area subject to suitable management of surface water runoff discharging from the site.”

Aireborough’s MP Stuart Andrew is backing the campaigners. Speaking in parliament in 2016 after severe flooding across the country he stressed the importance of listening to the experiences of local people.

He described some of the local flooding: “The Ings Lane site in Guiseley, where 300 houses are proposed to be built, looked like a lake. In the Wills Gill area of Yeadon, where hundreds of houses are proposed, it was exactly the same picture.”

ANDF is fighting to protect green space on Ings Lane, Wills Gill, Hollins Hill, and Victoria Avenue, Yeadon.