Councillors will be given an update on plans for a £1.2 million turbine to generate power from the River Aire at a meeting next week.

Bradford Council hopes to build the hydro power turbine next to the weir in Roberts Park, Saltaire. Its plans are backed by Baildon Friends of the Earth who handed a 300-signature petition to the Council in February supporting the scheme.

But others are against the proposals. A Stop the Saltaire Turbine petition, signed by 594 people, was given to a full meeting of the Council last week by the Friends of Roberts Park.

Group secretary Paul Haigh said: “The petition shows the overwhelming majority of local residents are not in favour of it. It will impact on one of Bradford’s best-loved views.”

The proposal is to install an Archimedes Screw-type turbine and fish pass next to the Roberts Park side of the weir, down-stream of the footbridge.

The Council says enough power would be harnessed from the water’s flow to generate electricity for 112 homes per year, helping towards its target of generating 20 per cent of its energy needs by renewable sources by 2020. The initial cost is expected to be paid back in around ten years.

On Wednesday, Shipley Area Committee members will be given a progress report by a Council officer. They will hear that environmental, wildlife and noise assessments and surveys have been completed along with the first stage of public consultation. A second period of consultation is under way on new building designs which reduce the size by about half.

Officers have also met with Saltaire Angling Association to discuss the potential impact on fishing. The association is against the plans, which it says could damage fish stocks and disturb pollutants further along the river. Member David Brazendale said the Council was taking the concerns seriously, but he was not sure a solution could be found.

* Shipley Area Committee meets at 6pm at Ian Clough Hall, Baildon, on Wednesday.