Plans to build 38 homes on a green field in Haworth will harm the character of the area and damage tourism, opponents say.

Keighley Area Planning Panel will decide tomorrow whether developer Skipton Properties can build on land South of Lees Mill, Shuttle Fold.

The proposals, which are recommended for approval, include nine social rented properties.

Hebden Road resident David Thompson said: “The development would change the character of the area. There used to be a lot of fields around here but they are being built on and Haworth and Cross Roads are joining up in to one big suburb of Keighley.”

Bronte Parsonage Museum director Andrew McCarthy said he had concerns about the level of development in the village.

“We do have concerns regarding the erosion of the heritage character of the village,” he said. “As we know it is that character which brings a lot of people here, which obviously has an input in to the local economy.”

Haworth Parish Council chairman John Huxley said members recognised the need for housing but had some concern. He added: “The key economic driver in this area is the tourist trade.

“Every time somebody builds on somewhere it changes the way we look. This particular development moves Cross Roads closer to Haworth and takes away some of that distinction.”

He said the parish council was working on a neighbourhood development plan so it could have more say over which sites were developed in the future.

Other concerns about the plans include increased traffic, pressure on local services, including schools, an increased risk of flooding and the overshadowing of the former mill workers houses in Hebden Road, which overlook the site.