Campaigners fighting a proposed development of 200 homes have conducted their own on-the-road experiment to measure the potential traffic impact should the homes be built.

A total of 20 drivers circulated through Thackley at the weekend and ended up travelling along Leeds Road simulating the impact of additional traffic on the road if the Persimmon development at Cote Farm goes ahead.

Idle and Thackley Councillor Jeanette Sunderland, who is also leader of Bradford Council’s Liberal Democrats, said: “The developers have got hundreds of thousands of pounds to spend on paying traffic consultants to support their case. We do not but we do have willing volunteers who want to fight off Persimmon Homes.

“As the experiment continued we found that even a modest increase in traffic levels had a significant impact on the flow of traffic.

“Half an hour into the experiment we had traffic backed along Leeds Road back to the junction with Shipley, past the Cote Farm entrance. This just shows how crazy the plans are to build additional homes that exit on to Leeds Road. With the Council currently looking at plans for almost 300 homes at Cote Farm and another 288 at Simpson Green, Idle and Thackley residents are looking at gridlock on Leeds Road.

“We apologise if anyone was inconvenienced by the experiment, but it’s madness for the Council to even consider piling more traffic on to Leeds Road.

“We were trying to find out what the impact of a modest increase in traffic on a Saturday would be.

“If these developments go ahead this would not be a half hour of inconvenience, but a permanent feature of every day life for thousands of residents.”

Wayne Gradwell, managing director of Persimmon Homes West Yorkshire, said the company was confident the impact of its proposed development had been thoroughly researched.

He said: “We have endeavoured to address the concerns of the local residents and have carried out a wide range of in-depth reports, including a full transport assessment and travel plan, access proposals and all the necessary plans and drawings to support the application.”