A CONTROVERSIAL council-backed scheme to build a hydro-turbine on the River Aire, which has previously been branded "a vanity project", is being recommended for approval.

Councillors will meet next week to vote on plans for a giant Archimedes' Screw to generate electricity from the River Aire by Salts Mill.

A viewable fish ladder would also be installed, although fears have been raised that minnows - 95 per cent of the Aire's fish stocks - might fail to negotiate the weir due to increased water flow due to narrowing of the river.

Criticism of the estimated £1.2 million scheme, noted in a report to Keighley and Shipley Area Planning Panel, includes 56 objections.

Those include that the proposal is "another complete and utter waste of Bradford Council money" and that it is "nothing more than a vanity project, an expensive gimmick during a period of supposed austerity and cutbacks".

Another criticism claims the project will generate the total annual energy needs of fewer than 20 average households .

One objector questions how many solar panels could be installed for the same cost of the scheme, adding: "It may be enough to produce far more power than the turbine and with less impact on the environment."

Another response to the plans said: "Roberts Park was a gift to the community for recreational use in perpetuity, which is not suitable for the proposed industrial use. In Salt’s day and since, no industrial activities were or have been located north of the river. Protection is given by the Deed of Gift under which Roberts Park was ceded to Bradford in 1920 by Sir James Roberts."

Saltaire Angling Association (SAA) has also started legal proceedings against the Council and the proposal.

The document also says 17 comments of support were sent to the Council about the plans.

One says the proposal is an opportunity for the Council to show leadership in clean, renewable energy generation. Another points out that fossil fuel depletion globally is leading to political instability and conflict and says Bradford is not immune to such effects.

One respondent points out that 2014 was the hottest year on record and said such projects were part of the transition to a "post-carbon society."

Another said the hydro-turbine would add interest to the World Heritage Site, contrasting Victorian energy generation, where sustainability was not a consideration, with modern methods.

One commenter said the design was sympathetic to the industrial heritage of Saltaire, in keeping with the history of the site and the ethos of Sir Titus Salt.

Friends of Roberts Park treasurer Richard Freeman said it wished to speak against the scheme at next week's meeting.

"And this is not the end of the fight, even if it's approved," he said.

The Keighley and Shipley Area Planning Panel will meet at 10am in Shipley Town Hall on Wednesday, April 29.