GREENBELT protesters will take to the streets on Sunday to defend the natural boundaries of their communities.

Events are being planned in Rawdon and Menston as part of the Community Voice on Planning day of action.

Alma Kirkpatrick has been helping with the delivery of flyers to publicise the Menston and Guiseley Greenbelt Protection Group rally to save Ings Fields from developers. The event, which is being organised in conjunction with members of WARD (Wharfedale and Airedale Review Development), will start at 12.30pm.

Meanwhile, residents in Rawdon and Horsforth are planning a three-mile Greenbelt March on the same day to promote awareness of the amount of land they say will be lost in the area if Leeds Council’s latest housing proposals go ahead. The route of the march will take in nine sites that the council has either allocated for housing or has reserved for housing.

Organisers say the sites have capacity for more than 1,600 houses, two thirds of which will be on greenbelt land.

Briony Sloan, co-founder of Rawdon Greenbelt Action Group, said: “Many people in this part of Rawdon and Horsforth don’t seem to know how much greenbelt we stand to lose and we hope that this march will go some way to address that. One of the prime reasons for having greenbelt is to stop neighbouring communities from merging, yet Leeds City Council seem determined to allow all this building on the Rawdon-Horsforth border. The A65 here is already heavily congested and all these housing developments can only make matters worse.

“Apart from taking in the threatened sites, I hope the march route will show everyone why this area is so special to us. Anyone is welcome to join us on the day and preferably wear something red or orange.”

The march leaves Jubilee Hall, Rawdon, at 1pm.