Plans by former top showjumper Harvey Smith to build an industrial estate in the middle of a Bingley "wildlife corridor" have been postponed for further consultation.

The Highways Agency has stepped in to look at how the proposed development of three industrial units off Dowley Gap Lane would affect the new Bingley Relief Road and to assess issues including visible impact and drainage.

The announcement came at the Shipley Area Planning Panel when objectors gathered to oppose plans to build on land close to Bingley South Bog, classed as a Special Site of Scientific Interest (SSSI).

Susan Stead, secretary of the Bradford Urban Wildlife Group, said: "The South Bog goes back 10,000 years to the Ice Age and is home to a number of plants and vegetation unique to this area, including Southern Marsh Orchid, which is found here at its most northerly point.

"We think the whole area should be a green belt stretching as far as Wagon Lane and we want to see a buffer zone.

"We need it for wildlife to pass through. The area has already been dissected by the Bingley Relief Road. If the wildlife is squashed into a smaller area it blocks the wildlife corridor to other areas such as Hirst Wood."

The proposal to build a kitchen and plastics manufacturing factory, food processing unit and warehouse on the former pasture land has also increased fears about increased traffic.

Alan Whetton, of Primrose Lane, said: "I am concerned it will change the social amenity of the area. When the bypass opened it was a relief because it reduced traffic. But I am concerned roads will become busier again and an industrial development might change the character of the area."

But the chairman of the Shipley Area Planning Panel, Councillor Robin Owens (Con, Bingley), said considerations were being made over the suitability of Wagon Lane for heavy lorries. "The Highways Agency is also considering the prospect of 44-tonne articulated lorries using Wagon Lane," he said.

"I know some concerns have been raised over the use of the listed bridge next to the Fisherman's Inn but that does not come into it really. It is simply too narrow for such vehicles to use."

He confirmed the land was earmarked for industrial use in the Unitary Development Plan.

A highways spokesman said: "We are looking at the Dowley Gap Lane proposal to assess whether it will have any impact on the Bingley Relief Road.

"Should we have any comment to make it will be submitted to planning for consideration."

The findings are expected to be discussed at the next planning meeting at the end of March.