Residents angry over homes bid

From the archive, first published Tuesday 9th Jan 2007.

Hundreds of furious residents have objected to a proposal to build 70 houses next to a graveyard.

KeyLand Developments, of Halifax Road, Bradford, wants to construct two and three-storey homes on the site of a derelict water filtration house on the north border of Thornton Road, Thornton.

Thornton Crematorium borders the land to the east, while houses on Ash Tree Avenue lie to the west.

Sandra Kemp, 43, of Thornton Road, and Annette Thompson, 45, of Old Road, have presented a 535-signature petition to Brad-ford Council to object to the scheme. They say the proposed development will encroach on the cemetery and may mean the digging up of some very old graves to make way for houses.

Bradford Council said it had received about 35 letters of objection, most of which raised the issue of Thornton Cemetery.

The proposed development, which includes 107 parking spaces and 70 houses, would be on a 1.79 hectare site.

The junction between Close Head Lane and Thornton Road would be relocated 95 metres to the east of where it is now.

A spokesman for KeyLand Developments said: "This development will not encroach upon Thornton Cemetery in any way.

"On the contrary, the development would in fact improve the facilities and access which is currently available."

The spokesman said the plans were still in their infancy. He said: "It is an outline planning application, which is the first stage to establish use for the land. People have until January 19 to submit objections but the application will not be discussed for another two months.

"Any correspondence will be taken into consideration and everyone who has written in will be informed of any meeting."

Bordering the land around the filtration plant are trees protected by preservation orders. In a letter to people in the area, Mrs Kemp and Mrs Thompson said: "Thornton has had more than its fair share of new developments. It's time to shout enough'.

"We need to hang on to our green areas and cherish them. Do we really want the village to stretch from School Green to Denholme?"

An application for 122 houses to be built on land to the west of Thornton Road, made in 2004 by the Woodford Group, is still awaiting a decision.

Increased traffic, noise and pollution and pressure on parking and amenities also worry campaigners.

e-mail: ben.barnett@bradford.newsquest.co.uk