CAMPAIGNERS have backed a survey saying two-thirds of people want the green belt to be protected from development.

A poll for the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) found 64 per cent of people surveyed wanted the green belt to be retained in England with only 17 per cent disagreeing.

Support for maintaining the green belt was 83 per cent in semi-rural areas, likely to be most directly affected, and 62 per cent in towns and cities.

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The Ipsos MORI poll of 845 people for CPRE also revealed support was strong among a range of groups, including people with young families, private renters, council tenants and across different income brackets.

The poll results were published yesterday on the 60th anniversary of the policy to protect land and countryside around towns and cities from development.

But the CPRE warned that by last month, 226,000 new homes had been proposed for the green belt in England, up from 219,500 homes in March, and 81,000 homes three years ago.

The survey's findings were welcomed by green-space campaigners in the Bradford district.

The Tong and Fulneck Valley Association, which has been campaigning to protect the green belt in the Tong Valley from being lost, has supported the survey.

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Its chairman, Canon Gordon Dey said: "Green belt land is there to ensure that our big urban areas are protected and have some definition, otherwise we will keep on building on these.

"A total of 95 per cent of the people we approached in our campaign were keen to support what we wanted to do. That's an indication for us. We had a petition with more than 1,000 signatures.

"People were extremely supportive of what we were trying to do.

"This survey backs up our campaign against building on green belt land in the Tong Valley.

"People recognise we want to retain green belt between conurbations and our cities and towns. They are important heritage areas that need to be protected."

Meanwhile, the CPRE survey has also been backed by members of the Greenhill Action Group (GAG), which is fighting an application to build 440 homes at Sty Lane, Micklethwaite, and has gone to a second public inquiry later this year.

Terry Brown, chairman of GAG, said: "I would 100 per cent agree with this survey.

"Why desecrate what we have already got? It is good for people to live around green belt land. It is good for their health.

"There are enough brownfield sites that are empty in this country.

"Builders find it cheaper to build on green belt land than brownfield sites. It should be a requirement for them to build on brownfield sites land first."

Councillor Martin Smith, planning spokesman for the Conservative group at Bradford Council, said: "This is an area I am supporting as in Bradford we have a large rural area and the destruction of the green belt by the core strategy is devastating the rural communities especially when schools, roads and infrastructure is already at or above capacity."

Councillor Val Slater, the executive member for planning at Bradford Council, was unavailable for comment yesterday.