It's the battle of the green belt. Tomorrow, developers will be lining up to try to overturn Bradford Council's protection of green field sites designated in the Unitary Development Plan - the Council's blueprint for building in the district for the next 15 years. Residents are undoubtedly set to fight for their right to protect large swathes of undeveloped land. But just where are the main areas of contention?

Thousands of local people are ready for battle.

Residents are preparing to fight to keep precious green fields out of the hands of housing developers at a mammoth public inquiry, which starts tomorrow and is expected to last six months.

And that battle over land allocations in the Council's proposed Unitary Development Plan promises to be long and bitter.

Campaigners know failure to protect their much loved countryside could mean developers moving in and beginning work almost as soon as the ink is dry on the signatures of inspectors who conduct the inquiry.

On the inspectors' say rests millions of pounds of developments - and potential profits.

But they are to hear from a more organised and consensual group of residents than the last time the Council - and the people of Bradford - had to endure a long and wounding investigation into whether the UDP was acceptable to the people, business and the law.

During the inquiry into the existing UDP three years ago, many objectors were at loggerheads with the Council over the earmarking of land across the district for housing, employment, shopping and industry for employment use.

But this time residents are supporting the Council against a formidable array of owners and developers who are objecting to the Green Belt designations because they want it changed for housing.

A staggering 700 issues will be considered at the inquiry and the great majority are over challenges to the Council's proposals to put or retain land in the Green Belt.

Tomorrow's inquiry marks a decade of campaigning by Silsden Town Action Group to stem the tide of housing and business developments they claim will swamp the area.

Members of the group, who have submitted objections to the proposals by the Council in its latest Unitary Development Plan, admit they sometimes feel battle weary but refuse to give in.

They still cling to the hope that inspectors conducting the inquiry will take on board their concerns and protect their town.

The representations from the Silsden group are among some 7,000 to be considered at the inquiry which will open at 10am tomorrow.

The inspectors recommendations - after they have sifted through mountains of evidence - will shape the district's future for the next 15 years when it will be time to prepare a new blueprint.

Until then UDP will be the yardstick of every planning application in Britain's fourth biggest metropolitan district - of which a third is countryside.

Big name companies like Alfred McAlpine Developments, John Ogden Properties, Taywood Homes and Bryant Homes will be watching the inquiry keenly with a view to developing.

A typical case can be found in sought-after Baildon where villagers are supporting Bradford Council which wants to earmark land at Jenny Lane as Green Belt.

The original proposal was to designate it as leisure - but the Council decided to back the residents.

Their joy was short-lived because the owners - the Catholic Church via the Diocese of Leeds - were keen for it to be designated for housing and are likely to push for that at the inquiry.

Campaigner Joan Hyde claimed: "Development here would be horrendous and we are determined to stop it.

"We need to keep flat playing fields for the children and this is the only one in the area that we have. We must keep it green belt."

Members of the Greenhill Action Group are fighting to save fields off Sty Lane, Mickle-thwaite, near Bingley, which they say could be swallowed up by about 800 homes.

The area is designated for housing in the existing plan and would be difficult to change because it has already gone through a public inquiry. But the new UDP stipulates that it cannot be developed until 2008.

That has sparked an objection from owners who will urge inquiry inspectors to recommend the release of the site next year.

But their determination to win Green Belt status for the land has prompted the campaigners to raise thousands of pounds for professional representation and hundreds of objections have gone in.

"There are numerous grounds to oppose this," said group treasurer Pauline Wood. "It has always been rural agricultural land. The implications would be huge and it would need access for 145 homes to be built there.

"Traffic would be an absolute nightmare and it would affect the whole district. The new Bingley by-pass would not help, because it is just to by-pass Bingley."

Elsewhere, land at Stylo House, Harrogate Road, Apperley Bridge, has been earmarked for employment - but owners Stylo Barratt Properties Ltd say it should be used for housing.

In Wharfedale - with already high house prices escalating - Ben Rhydding Primary School playing fields were originally allocated by the Council for housing in its draft plan but changed after an 8,000 signature protest petition was received.

Executive member for the environment, Councillor Anne Hawkesworth, said the only threat to the Ben Rhydding land now was from developers who want inspectors to change it back.

"For the fist time the objections in the main are from developers. I hope there won't be any nasty surprises.

"Great effort has been made by the Council to save the Green Belt and I hope the inspectors will see the need for it," said Coun Hawkesworth.

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