Kris Hopkins, leader of Bradford Council, has pledged not to carve up the countryside to meet housing targets.

Councillor Hopkins was addressing leaders of ten other councils from across Yorkshire as the Leeds City Region Leaders Board discussed housing yesterday.

Speaking about the Government's targets, Coun Hopkins said the goal posts kept changing, the numbers were huge and there needed to be a reality check on what was deliverable.

Tony Reeves, chief executive of Bradford Council, said: "This is the fourth authority I have worked for in the city region and on each of those we have had to go back to repair the damage done by pursuing numbers. In the past we have not always built proper communities."

Mr Reeves urged the leaders board to make sure they were actively planning to co-ordinate transport, the economy, housing and spatial planning to make sure the same mistakes were not made in the future. He said 2,700 new homes were planned for the Bradford district every year.

The leaders board will invite Richard McCarthy, director general for programmes, policies and innovation to its next meeting to explain the Government's position and to allow members to express their concerns.

During yesterday's meeting, the board also agreed to push ahead with a transport governance review to examine the structures which rule the way transport decisions are made.

At the same meeting, Coun Hopkins delivered a scathing attack on Wakefield Council for its refusal to take its place in the Leeds City Region leaders board.

Wakefield Council voted against three motions put forward at the last meeting and failed to send a representative to yesterday's meeting in Halifax.

Coun Hopkins said: "The city region is the preferred vehicle of our Government and we are one of the authorities that make up the city region, but one of the only two that are Labour led have decided to opt out.

"It's not appropriate to do that because they should give one year's notice. I am concerned one of the other partners (Wakefield Council) has decided to opt out of this process.

"We need to send a notice to the authority that's not playing this game. The economy is important to the city region so it's concerning one of our leaders has decided to take a different route without any discussion."

Councillor Steve Houghton, chairing the meeting, said the leaders board had received no official notice to say one of the authorities had opted out, but Coun Hopkins said he understood they had made the decision in the public arena when the issue was discussed by the council's executive.