A Council scheme to boost energy needs by harnessing water flow at a weir near Roberts Park received a boost last night.

Members of the Shipley Area Committee gave their approval to a report on proposals for the scheme, which would harness power from the flow of the River Aire at Saltaire Weir to generate 371,000 kWh a year of electricity.

Officers from the Council’s environment and climate change unit told the audience at the meeting at Ian Clough Hall, Baildon, that the public consultation on the plans was due to open on Thursday, July 5, where all views could be heard.

The proposals include installing an Archimedes Screw-type turbine and fish pass in the bank next to the Roberts Park side of the weir, down-stream of the footbridge.

The purpose of last night’s meeting was to get support from the committee, who supported the proposal for the hydro generation scheme subject to it meeting all ecological, heritage and planning requirements as a sustainable development.

Lesley Brook, from the Friends of Bradford Park, said that no-one had actually said where the weir was actually going to be. She added: “No one has actually said that it is going to be in the park. You are skirting around where it is going to be.

“Lots of money has just been spent on restoring the park and it is going to be in the park.”

But Richard Williamson, the environment and climate change manager at the Council, said that the proposal was one of a mixture to get renewable energy sources to meet 20 per cent of its energy needs by 2020.

He said that the Council was in talks with Npower to possibly power the street lighting and traffic lights with the eventual energy derived from the proposal if it gets the go ahead.

He added: “2020 is only eight years away so we need to get our skates on. We are also working on proposals for more biomass boilers which we already have in City Hall.

“This (hydro generation scheme) is nowhere near the formal planning process but we wanted to get local area members up to speed on what is happening.”

The potential scheme was praised by councillors, with one, Bingley Councillor Simon Cooke, saying that he thought it was a tastefully designed scheme which was actually an admirable effort by officers.