Campaigners say they could need up to £100,000 to fight plans to build hundreds of homes in their village.

Menston Action Group (MAG) says the money is needed for its bid to overturn schemes which could see the homes built in Derry Hill and Bingley Road in the village.

Now, it has unveiled a strategy to try to overturn planning permission granted by members of Bradford Council’s Shipley Area Planning in February, to developers Taylor Wimpey and Barratt Homes to build up to 300 homes at the two sites.

So far, MAG has written to Eric Pickles, the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government asking him to look at the Council decision, it has a Village Green status public inquiry scheduled for August and has distributed a newsletter to 2,000 homes in the village outlining its battle plans.

But Graham Booth, of the group, says it is also planning to force a judicial review into the decisions made by councillors in a special meeting at the Kirklands Community Centre and needs thousands of pounds to pay for expert lawyers.

He said MAG is calling on anyone in the village to help with the fighting fund.

“The bottom line for ‘the now’ is Menston needs to raise up to £100,000 to fund our plan,” he said in a blog on the Wharfedale and Airedale Review Development (WARD) website.

“We are asking everyone who cares about our village to help – an onerous task for a village of only 2,000 homes. However, if we are successful in our actions, some of this cost will be reimbursed. What price our little piece of England?”

MAG has also planned a village forum for Tuesday.

Meanwhile, another action group has been formed to fight plans for developments on Rawdon Billing.

The Rawdon Billing Action Group (RBAG) has been created to protect land listed in Leeds City Council’s Strategic Housing Land Availability Assessment (SHLAA) as a potential site for hundreds of new homes.