CAMPAIGNERS working to save a Yeadon beauty spot from developers have victory in sight - but they have warned not to be complacent.

Aireborough MP Paul Truswell and the Keep Yeadon Banks Green group have fought for years to get the land put back into the green belt and so be protected from development.

And now, with the review of the Leeds Unitary Development Plan coming to its conclusion, it looks like the land will be returned to the green belt.

But Mr Truswell has this week warned that there are likely to be objections from developers keen to buy up the land and that residents should offer their support now more than ever.

He told the Wharfedale Observer: "The present government has introduced planning guidance that has given the council firm grounds to put Yeadon Banks back into the green belt.

"I am delighted that the council has seized this opportunity and is seeking to reverse the decisions of the planning inspectors who imposed the idea of possible housing development on us in 1995.

"If the present guidance had been in force at that time, I am certain we would not have had to put so much time and effort into opposing this threat to our greenbelt."

Mr Truswell said that what the council was proposing was exactly what he and campaigners had been fighting for.

But he added: "We can't heave a sigh of relief just yet.

"There may still be opposition from those who want to develop the land and we may have to take them on at another public enquiry, but things are moving in the right direction."

Mr Truswell also warned that potential developers might object to the city council's proposals.

"It is crucial that local people submit their comments to the council supporting the proposal to return the land to the green belt," he told the Wharfedale and Airedale Observer.

At the public inquiry into the Leeds UDP in 1995, government planning inspectors, against the wishes of nearby residents and the city council, removed part of Yeadon Banks from the green belt.

Since then, KEYBAG has struggled to get the land registered as a town green to keep it protected from development.

l The consultation is due to end on August 5.