Seven-year fight wins protection for green space

A community recreation site on the border of Leeds and Bradford has been protected from future development after a seven-year campaign by residents.

Part of Sunnybank Lane Recreation Ground in Thornbury will be safeguarded after Leeds City Council approved an application to register the land as a town or village green (TVG).

The application submitted in 2019 had faced opposition from Bradford Council, which owns the land.

But a public inquiry in May this year found part of the site met the legal tests required for village green status and the final decision was made by the Leeds authority.

While the site has a Bradford postal address, it sits within the Leeds district, which meant the city council, acting as the area's Common Registration Authority, had the final say on whether it should be protected.

Councillors at the Leeds West plans panel meeting were told the land could be classed as a TVG if conditions were met, including that a significant number people had been using it for sport or pastimes for 20 years and continued to do so.

A report to the meeting said photographic evidence, questionnaires and a petition were submitted by the applicant, Kulvinder (Kully) Manik, in 2019.

It said: "Despite the Bradford postal address given for the application land, it lies within the metropolitan district of Leeds, and therefore the administrative area of the council, although it is very close to the boundary with Bradford."

Plans panel member Dan Cohen, a Conservative Alwoodley councillor, moved a recommendation by council officers to approve TVG status, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

He said: "What's really clear here is there's been a huge amount of work by local residents seeking to protect a local amenity and to make sure it is protected for the future."

Andrew Carter, Calverley and Farsley Conservative councillor, was among supporters of the application.

He said: "I want to pay tribute to the local residents, particularly Kully Manik, and the team that appeared at the public inquiry.

"I was very pleased to support the local residents throughout this long and drawn-out process."

Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.