A leading hi-tech company has unveiled plans for a "modern urban village" for staff as part of a new development which would create 260 skilled jobs.

Taking its model from Victorian Saltaire, Filtronic Components has submitted plans for a new development near its existing site in Otley Road, Baildon.

They also include a hotel, 94 apartments which the company hopes new employees will buy, a shop and offices.

The Telegraph & Argus exclusively revealed this week that Filtronic plc, the parent company of Filtronic Components and Filtronic Comtek, was proposing to cut 270 jobs at its Saltaire site which manufactures mobile-phone components.

The company said it was moving that work to China where labour costs are around 90 per cent lower.

But the plans at Baildon would see the creation of 260 jobs involved in the research, development and manufacture of advanced electronic components for the defence industry.

The move would effectively double the scale of the company's existing operation in Baildon.

The jobs created would be for highly-qualified engineers, designers, technicians and production aligners working in the specialist field of designing and manufacturing defence communications systems.

The work is highly sensitive and advanced with some of the workers recruited from the global market, while others would be from the local area.

It is expected workers would want to live close to the site and the apartments, hotel and shop are designed to serve the business, although the company would not retain ownership of them.

The proposed apartments on the multi-million-pound development would be a mix of luxury, standard and 'affordable' homes.

Project manager Chris Schofield, a former director of Filtronic and senior partner at Schofield Sweeney Solicitors in Bradford, said the plan was to build a "modern urban village."

He said the company was consciously imitating the example of Sir Titus Salt who created Saltaire for his mill workers in the 19th century.

Mr Schofield said that competition and pressure from customers had given Filtronic no choice but to cut costs by moving the mass manufacturing operation out of Saltaire.

However, the company was keen to underline its commitment to Bradford by developing its fast-growing defence business in the district.

"Volume manufacturing needs to move from the UK so UK operators need to focus on those areas where it is not practical, nor desirable, to move from the UK," said Mr Schofield.

If approved, the site would be built on a green field near its existing Acorn Park premises in Charlestown, which would be sold to pay for the development and existing staff moved to the new site.

Mr Schofield said the premises at Acorn Park had outgrown its use - and would be sold regardless of whether the plans were approved.

If the plans for Baildon are not approved, the company would probably look to build the development at its other hi-tech plant in Newton Aycliffe, County Durham, where it already owns a large amount of land.

Mr Schofield said: "We don't have to build this factory here but we wanted to maintain our commitment to the city as much as we possibly can."

The land has been owned by Filtronic since the late 1990s, and it was originally planned to build a factory for large-scale manufacturing on the site.

But when the mobile-phone components side of the business took off in Saltaire, the site was left undeveloped.

Today Councillor Simon Cooke, executive member for regeneration, welcomed the plans.

He said lower-skilled jobs in manufacturing were moving to the Far East and higher-skilled jobs were being created instead.

"We have known for a couple of years now that Filtronic needed to reorganise the way it did its manufacturing," he said. "It's sad because it means the loss of jobs in Saltaire, but at the same time we have been working with Filtronic to keep their business, which is continuing to grow, in the Aire Valley.

"It links into what we are trying to do with the Airedale masterplan."

Chris Leslie, MP for Shipley, said: "I shall look very closely indeed at the planning application.

"In principle it is always good to see businesses expanding and improving and bringing in new staff, although I know they have made different decisions on the other side of their business.

"I want to make sure local residents are content with the proposals too as obviously it will be new-build. It sounds like a potentially interesting development and I look forward to looking at the plans in more detail."

The plans will be considered by Shipley Area Planning Panel.