Background

In July 2020, a legal challenge by the Aireborough Neighbourhood Development Forum led to 37 sites – including the Red Hall Playing Fields site, whose woodyard was green belt – being returned to the green belt.

Leeds City Council still want money from the sale of Red Hall. Kate has written to anyone on our mailing list about Leeds’ recent email to interested parties:

Kate’s email

Many people will have received the email below about removal of Greenbelt sites from the Leeds Site Allocations Plan. It gives the impression that Leeds City Council has performed a U-turn and decided not to sell the site for development. This is not the case.

Only one part of the Red Hall Playing Fields site is officially classed as “Greenbelt” and therefore protected from housebuilding. This area was formerly the old woodyard area bordering Winn Moor Lane. The long term plan for this old woodyard is that it should be a “pocket park” on the other side of the East Leeds Orbital Route. The “modification” in the email below is essentially rubber stamping its Greenbelt status.

The Playing Fields themselves are currently allocated to be developed as “Business Park”, so are not protected from development. The Council will now go back through the Site Allocations Process to change its allocation to “housing” ahead of a planning application to build houses. There is currently a “preferred bidder” working with the Council to develop a plan for 50 houses on the part of the Red Hall Playing Field site that is not in the green belt. This is likely to be put before the public very soon ahead of granting planning permission and ensuing sale.

When asked last year about the Greenbelt modification to the Site Allocations Plan and its impact on plans for Red Hall Playing Fields, David Feeney, the Chief Planning Officer wrote:

The site is currently not allocated for housing as a result of the Judgement, however the Council has been instructed by the Judge to review and update its evidence for the allocation of these sites before taking the Plan back through the Examination process. It therefore remains open to the Council to pursue a housing allocation on HG2-119. In the meantime the site will revert to its previous employment allocation within the UDP. The larger UDP housing allocation at Red Hall (to the west of HG2-119) is unaffected by the Judgement.

The Council has marketed the entirety of its land at Red Hall for disposal and is continuing to progress the sale with the Preferred Bidder. It is anticipated that the developer will come forward with its proposals for public consultation prior to a planning application for the site, which will be considered by the Local Planning Authority based on the adopted local plan policies and any other material considerations.

Any modifications made to the Site Allocations Plan as part of the remittal process will be the subject of public consultation. The Council’s aspiration is to see the delivery of housing at Red Hall in line with the previously adopted SAP and the Red Hall Planning Brief. Whilst the SAP judgement has impacted on the allocation of HG2-119 as a result of a small portion of the site being within the Green Belt, in reality this area of land was not within the developable area of the site. As such, it is not considered that the justification for the allocation of land for housing, that was found sound by the appointed planning inspectors, has changed.

When asked yesterday for more clarity regarding the email below, Councillor Gruen responded:

The answer is that the majority of the site remains a housing allocation [sic]* from the much earlier UDP; however there is a part, which is green belt. As I understand it the planning application will have to demonstrate the need for this in green belt.

In the meantime Pauleen and I are reiterating the principles we have discussed many a time before. We are now in the process of arranging public consultation.

* We believe Cllr Gruen meant “employment allocation” here; the site is not currently allocated for housing

Hopefully one positive outcome of the current situation will be increased awareness and sensitivity on the part of the planners for the need for green space that is local, accessible, open and safe.