PLANS to develop city council-owned greenbelt land near Cottingham have been shelved.
Three sites on the edge of the village were identified by Hull City Council late last year as part of wider proposals to build nearly 1,500 new homes by offering around 320 acres of land for development.
It followed a move by the council to drop long-standing opposition to the idea of building on open areas between the city boundary and settlements such as Cottingham, Anlaby and Hessle.
At the time, the policy shift triggered an angry response from East Riding Council leader Stephen Parnaby.
He vowed to fight any attempt by Hull to encourage development on open countryside which currently acts as a natural boundary between the two authorities.
The East Riding's planning team subsequently rejected formal requests by Hull to allocate the three sites near Cottingham for future housing development.
Now, the city council has confirmed it will not continue to press for development allocation rights at two of the sites
The third site to the south of Cottingham off Priory Road is still being disputed under the East Riding's Draft Local Plan process.
Two of the sites off Willerby Low Road and Eppleworth Road were rejected by East Riding officials because of concerns over flooding and loss of open space.
The third on a plot south of The Garth was given only limited go-ahead for new possible housing.
Hull is currently lobbying for wider approval covering a much larger adjacent site it also owns, which is currently open countryside.
In a new report, the city council's planning manager Alex Codd said: "It is considered unnecessary at present for the council to pursue development allocations on these two sites as the rationale for their rejection seem appropriate."
Councillor Steven Bayes, Hull's cabinet member for regeneration, said: "In the light of the rejections, we have agreed not to pursue two of the land allocations at Cottingham.
"However, they do seem rather strange decisions by the East Riding.
"Under their own Draft Plan, they are required to identify new housing land and encourage more house-building and we know these sites would help them meet their targets.
"The East Riding has also allocated other sites near Cottingham for new housing where the same concerns should surely apply."
A Hull proposal for land it owns near Hedon to be allocated for housing has also been rejected.
