AN "innovation centre" featuring labs and units for technology start-up companies has been proposed for a dairy farm between Gilstead and Saltaire.

The Hartley Property Group has revealed the plans for Milner Field Innovation Centre, which would be a joint venture between Bradford University and Bradford College and be built on Milner Field Farm near Dowley Gap and the Leeds Liverpool Canal. The site is in the green belt, although the group says the development would be on the footprint of existing buildings.

A "request for scoping opinion" was submitted to Bradford Council this week - it is a document submitted to councils to determine whether a proposal needs an Environmental Impact Assessment before a full planning application is submitted.

The application says: "The proposal will form a campus of small business offices tailored specifically to facilitate business and technology innovation start ups which will operate in a shared campus community.

"This endeavour is supported by Bradford College and Bradford University, who are envisioned to exist as shareholders of a joint venture to run and manage the business innovation centre."

Bradford Telegraph and Argus:

It says the proposals will include 2,300 square metres of office space, 138 square metres of laboratory space, shared meeting rooms and a resource area. A plan of the site shows one of the building will contain start up incubation units.

The farm house will be converted, with other buildings built on the footprint of farm buildings that would be demolished if the plans went ahead. Entry to the site would be by Primrose Lane, Gilstead.

The report said the development would include "substantial" new tree planting across the site.

Both the College and the University said they did not want to comment on the plans at this early stage.

The site has been used as a farm continuously since it was built in the 1860s. The current tenant of the site, dairy farmer Keith Downs, said he was unaware the landowners would be submitting the plans, and said he had not been planning on vacating the tenancy. He told the Telegraph & Argus: "As far as I know we're here to stay. I had no notification this was being submitted at all."

The Hartley Property Group were unavailable for comment yesterday.

Councillor David Heseltine, (Cons) represents the Bingley ward, had just been informed of the plans, and said they would need to be carefully scrutinised. He added: "It is not a typical place for something like this. One worry I could see locals having is whether this was the thin end of the wedge and there would be more development here.

"There are lots of sites in Bingley that I would be ideal for something like this. We do need to keep our farms."