A DAIRY farmer says he will be forced from land his family have worked for more than a century if a planning application for a new business park on a green belt site is approved by Bradford Council.

There are also concerns about the impact of the proposed business park on the UNESCO World Heritage Site at Saltaire and other historic sites in the area, including the Leeds Liverpool Canal conservation area.

Hartley Property Group wants to develop Milner Field Farm at Primrose Hill, Bingley, to create a mixed use campus which would be used to assist start-up businesses, a scheme they say is supported by Bradford College and Bradford University.

Under their plans, there would be a new campus of small business offices created, tailored to meet the needs of "technology and innovation start-ups".

But the plans, which have yet to be considered by Bradford Council, have already generated opposition with more than 60 objections being submitted.

David Downs, 44, is currently a tenant farmer, who took over from his father Keith, and expects to lose the farm if planning permission is granted.

“If this plan goes ahead we’ll be out and the last dairy farmer in Bingley will be gone," he said.

“There are many problems with the suitability of the site for such a project, and worryingly it would also open up the rest of the land here to development.

“We can only object regarding the ‘environmental impact’ – but the fact that it’s greenbelt land and part of the Milner Fields buffer zone is the most important.

“The buildings here aren’t listed, but they are the traditional farm buildings and home of more than one species of bat. The woodland bordering the site is also part of the Bradford Wildlife area.”

Mr Downs added that the proposals would bring no “secondary” income to other local shops or businesses, unlike the current dairy farm.

“We’ve always sold direct to local households and a big proportion of our milk, probably about 50 per cent, is sold to local people and businesses. "This is the core of our business. Obviously that reduces things like food miles and is better for the local economy all round. We employ four full time and four part time staff, and the farm has a direct impact on other jobs in the area.”

A 'scoping' report prepared as part of the application confirms there would be a "potential impact to the site of the Saltaire World Heritage Site" and the council's own highways department says roads in the area are already busy with commuter traffic and the current entrance to the site would be unsuitable if developed as proposed.

English Heritage have also raised concerns about the impact of the development on the Leeds Liverpool canal.

Bradford Councillor Keith Warnes (Shipley, Green) is among those who have commented on the proposals and his submission states: “This type of out of town development offers no secondary income to other local shops or businesses (unlike the current dairy farm). Bingley town centre traders would welcome a development of this sort on one of the brownfield sites in the town.”

Mr Downs has 180 dairy cows on the farm, and lives there with his wife Stella and sons Leyton, 4, and Gabrielle, 2.

No comment was available from Hartley Property Group