Proposals for 190 homes at Belton Road, 140 at Becks Mill and 47 at the old timber yard

1) Becks and Riverside mills

Local resident Sam Slater, among the many people who enjoy the tranquility of ancient Sykes Lane, inspects plans to build 140 three and four-bedroomed houses on the site of the former Becks and Riverside (Weavestyle) mills.

The scheme (above) was open to public view at the Town Hall on April 7. The Becks, Belton Road and Banks schemes will all be accessed from junctions with Keighley Road. The junction for the Becks houses will be nearly opposite the Aldi entrance. This estate road into and from Keighley Road runs the width of the development near the top of the diagram. It ends in Sykes Lane opposite the pens and outbuildings -- sited so as to serve any future housing development beyond the present scheme.

The development site is pictured above in its wider context. Shazad Khan, the project's transport expert, says cars can be managed without traffic lights or a roundabout, which would become options if congestion is rife. Predictions based on national modeling assume 2.6 cars per household. The symbols along Keighley Road on the map above represent bus stops.

The Keighley Road frontage is virtually opposite the Aldi store car park. Outline plans for the Becks and Riverside site have yet to be put to planners. Leeds-based consultants Nathaniel Lichfield & Partners (NLP) are handling the project on behalf of site owner Silvermantle Ltd., whose service address is in Manchester.

The Becks Mill was Silsden's first steam-powered textile factory, built in 1837/1838. It subsequently became Stocks Mill with a huge frontage to Keighley Road (see my posts of November 2014). This photograph was taken in 2009 when demolition of the mill fronting Keighley Road exposed this two-storey section, latterly occupied by Belmont Silks.

The entrance to the proposed housing estate will be here, about 45 metres south of the Aldi entrance.

The Riverside Mill (above), part of the 11-acre site, was purpose-built for textile firm Weavestyle. Plans for a Tesco store on the site were turned down following the recent demolition of the mill. 

View from the canal towpath. The vacant Riverside Mill area can be seen through the trees on the left

This 1970s view, also shown in my post of March 2016, partly indicates the Becks and Riverside mills site beyond the Keighley Road sports pitches in the foreground. The chimney nearest the pitches belonged to the old dyeworks, which gave way to the Weavestyle premises.

2) The Banks

Around 47 three, four and five-bedroomed homes are planned for The Banks on the canal-side site of the old Tunnicliffe timber yard. Access to and from Keighley Road will be opposite the old Corn Mill along the track (where caravans were once stored) beyond the lorry and the gate shown above. 

Above: The old timber yard where around 47 houses are to be built. Developer Harron Homes, of Leeds, describes Silsden as a "quaint town".

Above: an impression of the development adjoining the canal.

Above:  the access to and from Keighley Road will run between Victorian Mill Banks on the left and the unmade road on the right, which leads to picturesque Albert Square. 

Above: the Sykes Lane end of the access road.

Above: the access road will cross Sykes Lane at this point to serve the new estate. Looking across to Millfields, a relatively recent housing development between the canal and Elliott Street.

Above: Sykes Lane is known to have been in existence in 1565 but its origins are possibly much earlier. It was an access route to early field systems. Flanked for years by an old-fashioned mishmash of smallholdings and pursuits, the lane is rich in birdsong in spring and a leafy delight in summer. 

3) Belton Road

Bradford council regulators, meeting on April 7, deferred consideration of plans to build around 190 homes on land between Belton Road and Henholme Lane. Part of the proposed site is shown above, looking towards Henholme Lane.

Above: the development area is ringed in red. The access is in Belton Road near the junction with Keighley Road. Councillors want more information about the risk of flooding.

Above: an illustration of the proposed development. The builder, Countryside Properties, of Essex, which has a Stock Exchange listing, is seeking outline consent. Part of the site is reported to be in an area known to be a flood risk. City Hall officers said the scheme should be approved but councillors called for a fuller flood-risk assessment taking into account the Boxing Day floods. The developer's assessment had been written before the area's December deluge.