A planned farm building on a plot of Green Belt has been refused by Bradford Council.

Zalia Bi had submitted the plans for a stone agricultural building on a field off Halifax Road, outside of Denholme.

He had said the building was needed for his farming business, to house sheep and for storage.

The plans went before Bradford Council's Keighley area planning panel yesterday. Planning officer Martyn Burke said the building was large considering it was on a relatively small plot of land - under one hectare.

He said the applicant had provided very little information about why a new building was needed, or the nature of his business, and had not responded to questions from the planning department.

The panel had been advised to refuse the plans as they would "introduce a sizeable and permanent building to this open site that would adversely impact on the openness of the Green Belt" and that "insufficient justification" had been given to allow such a development.

Mr Bi was at the meeting and provided new information to members. He said he also owned a farm on the other side of the road, and this new building would be an extension of that business.

He said his lambs were in high demand, and this building was needed to shelter them during the cold weather experienced in that part of the district.

However, Mr Burke replied: "This is the first time this has been mentioned. But it raises other questions. Are there buildings in the other area of land that would be more suitable for this use rather than putting a new building on an exposed site?"

The committee voted to go along with planning officers' recommendations and refuse the application because of its impact on Green Belt land.

Chair Doreen Lee told Mr Bi he should have provided his justifications for the building much earlier, rather than the day of the planning meeting. She added: "These are the things you need to show us at the time you are submitting the planning application. It is no good giving us these details now."