PROFITS from building seven family-sized homes in Silsden will be spent on affordable housing.

Social landlord Incommunities has applied for planning permission to build the homes on the site of former garages off Dradishaw Road.

Silsden Town Council has issued “strong objections” alleging access problems, loss of public green space, and the risk of creating a “gated community”.

The six semi-detached and one detached house, with parking places, would be on a narrow strip of land surrounded by a mix of existing rented and privately-owned homes.

Incommunities, which manages the district’s former council housing, said the garages were demolished several years ago.

A spokesman said: “If approved, the new homes will be released for sale with profits going back into delivering more new affordable housing in the future and investing in improving our housing services.

“These new homes will not only regenerate a cleared brownfield site but contribute to the housing mix in the area.”

Incommunities said the existing houses surrounding the site were a mix of affordable housing for rent owned by Incommunities, Right to Buy homes (previously belonging to Incommunities), and privately owned homes.

The spokesman added: “There are two trees with preservation orders. These trees will be protected during construction and pruned to ensure the visual amenity is retained.”

In its objection to the planning application, Silsden Town Council said the town could not afford to lose more urban green space.

It added: “Access via a single track road does not appear appropriate. This council believes there is an existing sewer across this site which needs to be taken into account.

“The building of a gated community on land owned by Incommunities is incongruous with the lack of social housing. At the very least this land should, if built on, be used for social housing.”

District councillor Rebecca Whitaker, whose Craven ward includes Silsden, said she shared the town council’s concerns over access and loss of green space.

She said: “The access is quite narrow. It’s going to be narrower still because a new house has been built there. It will be ‘one in, one out’ for vehicles, so I think Bradford Council Highways could have an issue with that.”

Cllr Whitaker, who also sits on Silsden Town Council, said the town council’s Neighbourhood Plan listed the site of the former garages as “protected green space”.

She added: “It’s a piece of the green space we are trying to keep in residential areas. It’s somewhere for people to go if they don’t have a garden.”