A campaign group battling a multi-million pound hi-tech business park on Bradford Council-owned land have accused the authority of stifling debate after officers rejected a request for an e-petition on the issue.

The request for the move on the Council’s website was submitted by Baildon Residents against Inappropriate Development (Braid) as part of its campaign against the business park being built next to the River Aire in Buck Lane, Baildon.

It is calling for the Council to declare the land green belt and develop it as a space for “community recreation” and for its head of regeneration “to publicly demonstrate the financial viability of the Council’s decision to develop Buck Lane as an industrial estate”.

However, in a reply to the group, the Council said it would not be possible to accept the petition because it was asking for “material which is commercially sensitive” – an exemption under the Council’s e-petition rules.

Dr Steven Walker, chairman of Braid, said: “The petition itself is not demanding any commercially sensitive information and, in any event, it would be up to the Council to decide what it wants. That should not mean that the petition should be rejected out of hand.

“They are just using this as a get-out clause to stifle debate. Clearly they do not want to have questions raised about the viability of the Buck Lane project.”

Braid claim that preparing the site for development and building a road junction will cost £2.5 million, £1.4 million of which will come from Council taxpayers and the rest from developers.

That figure may rise when remediation work is carried out to remove contamination which was discovered on the land, claim the campaigners.

Dr Walker said: “The numbers do not add up. They are going to be spending £2.5 million on this thing and the site is contaminated. The Council is going to commit £1.4 million and expect to get the rest from developers. That is completely pie in the sky. They are not going to find it in the current climate.”

The petitioners now have the right to request a review of the decision by the the Council’s Corporate Overview and Scrutiny Committee, which can investigate and make recommendations to the Executive or the relevant officer.

Bradford Council could not comment at the time of publication but a letter sent to Dr Walker by Council leader Ian Greenwood last month, stated: “The Council is committed to the Buck Lane project as the employment site offers the opportunity to retain existing companies in the scientific/technical sector within Bradford district.

“Funding is included within the capital programme for the coming financial year. As you would expect, there will be a financial contribution to the scheme from the end users and this will vary according to their size and needs.”

Meanwhile, campaigners from Braid were taking to the streets today for a protest march from the Buck Lane site to Shipley Town Hall, where they were to hand a letter to Baildon’s councillors highlighting their concerns.

In the letter, Dr Walker states: “The Buck Lane site is the last remaining piece of grade two agricultural land in Bradford and yet, as we all know, there are swathes of brownfield land around the City, certainly in Shipley and Saltaire within walking distance of the site.”