Steeton villagers angry at state of road near Thornhill Road development site (From Craven Herald)

Steeton villagers angry at state of road near Thornhill Road development site

7:00am Thursday 14th February 2013 in News

Angry villagers have hit out at the state of a road where work has begun on a 200-plus-house development.

They say Thornhill Road, in Steeton, has been caked in mud by lorries leaving the site.

The residents’ case has been taken up by Craven ward councillor Adrian Naylor.

“A large number of heavy vehicles are moving topsoil and the road is a mess,” he said. “I appreciate that while work is being carried out there will be some inconvenience, but steps can be taken by the developer to mitigate that.

“There is a duty on the firm to keep the highway clean and I have contacted the council to ask that this is enforced.”

Coun Naylor is also calling on Bradford Council to ensure that when construction plans are submitted in future, a condition is included that wheels should be cleaned as vehicles leave sites.

“You would normally expect a wheel-cleaning facility to be in place as a matter of course on a major development site – it’s not an onerous thing,” he added.

“Also you would think that the developer would want to be a ‘good neighbour’ from the outset.”

Redrow Homes has permission to build 220 houses on the site, although an application has been submitted to reduce the figure to 209. No one at the company was available to comment.

Julian Jackson, Bradford Council’s assistant director for planning, transportation and highways said a council officer would visit the site to address residents’ concerns.

Proposals to build at Thornhill Road have been dogged by controversy since 2008 when Skipton Properties first unveiled plans for development. Residents failed to stop construction by trying to get the field classed as a village green.