Protesters against a proposed 2,700 home development have devised a countryside walk to show people the impact building would have on the green site in Bradford.

A petition containing 1,000 signatures collected by Save Tong & Fulneck Valley Association was yesterday handed to Bradford Council, opposing the proposal, part of the Holme Wood and Tong Neighbourhood Development Plan.

On Saturday campaigners will hold a two-hour walk, starting at Tong Village Hall, that will cover all the areas under threat, including Westgate Hill and Raikes Lane.

Organisers said the aim was to show the potential loss of countryside in the proposed development.

Group secretary John Finnigan said: “We are going to walk around areas that are going to be affected.

“There are plans for an urban extension of Holme Wood with 2,100 of the proposed homes in green belt and 300 immediately adjacent to the Holme Wood estate. If you have 2,700 new homes then you have thousands more people and you require the infrastructure to go with that.

“There are enormous transport issues as Westgate Hill, Tong Street and Dudley Hill are always jammed up now.

“Greenfield developments are very attractive to developers and they would rather start building there than on brownfield sites because they are easier to sell.

“This is super countryside. I would ask people to come and see the view and then imagine what it would look like if the view was blocked out.”

But some councillors have not supported the protest. Councillor Alan Wainwright (Lab, Tong) described it as a campaign “going nowhere”.

“Bradford needs 40,000-plus homes and we have been through a consultation process two years ago to get here,” he said.

“There is no way we are building down Tong Valley but we do need houses or where are we going to put people?”

Coun Michael Johnson (Lab, Tong) said he backed the development, adding: “This organisation is not representative of Tong ward. I am in favour of brownfield and bringing empty houses back into use, but we still need houses.”

For more information on the walk, which starts at 10.30am, visit savetong valley.org.uk