Parents are asking Bradford Council planners to refuse planning permission for houses on an area where their children play.

The Council's property services group is seeking outline permission for the plot - once the site of demolished Wesley Place Primary School in Keighley.

Parents are filling in objection forms and about 30 children are writing to planning bosses begging them to protect the land from redevelopment.

Group members also plan to write to Keighley Labour MP Ann Cryer seeking her support for the campaign.

The land is off busy Halifax Road, Keighley, near to terraced houses in Oak Grove and Willow Grove and is a safe haven for children, say parents.

Father-of-two John Pickard, 34, of Willow Grove, said: "There is nowhere else for the children to play. They either play on this green area or they have to play on the streets, which are not suitable.

"We are not asking for a playground. We aren't asking for the Council to pay out for anything. We just want them to leave the area as a safe place for the children.''

He said the site attracts youngsters from the five terraced streets and as far away as Hermit Hole and Damems.

Paul Broadbent, 41, of Oak Grove, also a father of two, added: "We have no garden and that site is the only safe area for the children to play away from the traffic. Traffic in Halifax Road is horrendous.

"The nearest park is Lund Park which is reached across two busy roads. The children can only play there if we accompany them.''

Mrs Cryer said: "I can understand their situation. It is obviously a green oasis where the children can play.

"I know those streets and they are not suitable for children to play on.''

She said she also appreciated the local authority's policy of looking for in-fill sites which were suitable for development.

A spokesman for Bradford Council said: "An application has been submitted for the site and any comments or objections will obviously be considered by the Council before any decision is made.''

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.