Supermarket giant Asda could provide the Airedale masterplan with its first major test.

The battle ground is a warehouse site in Bradford Street, Keighley, where Asda wants to build a store creating hundreds of jobs.

But the masterplan and district planners are set in opposition to the Leeds-based supermarket which has been trying to have a presence in the town for more than 10 years.

In the masterplan, the site is earmarked as a prime location to turn Airedale into a high-tech haven. Its authors - design consultants Arup - said the Peter Black site was ideal office space for the digital economy. Project director Mike Osborne said a supermarket "would destroy the town centre, Bingley and Silsden in terms of viability".

He said it was not suitable for retail use and should be retained for employment. The first hurdle to the Asda application is next Thursday at Keighley Area Panel where officers will be recommending the project is rejected. The application is a re-submission of a similar plan originally proposed by Asda in 2001.

But, because the decision was not determined within the statutory eight weeks, the final say will lie with the Deputy Prime Minister.

Keighley planning officer John Eyles said: "The masterplan was launched just after the report on the site was completed. The planning panel will be made aware of it - I should say they will know about it anyway - because the plan is important in its relationship to this proposal."

Planners are recommending refusal of the plan on a number of grounds, including that Asda has failed to show there is a need for another supermarket in the town.

The report to go before the committee says the development would be potentially harmful to the economic life of Keighley and the nearby towns of Bingley and Silsden.

The plan is backed by Keighley Town Council, 274 individuals and two petitions with 120 signatures claiming an Asda would drive down prices and give wider choice.

Town Councillor Brian Hudson, said: "We believe by bringing stores into Keighley we will attract people from outside our immediate area. At the moment it is going the other way."

But the plan is opposed by Keighley traders, fearing its impact on the economy of the town centre.

Asda says it would create 400 jobs and claims to have more than 1,700 customers supporting the plan.

A spokesman said: "Asda has been looking to open a store in Keighley for a decade. Our view is that it would greatly benefit the town."

And Peter Black has pledged to reinvest some of the money at its premises in Lawkholme Lane, Keighley, ensuring it remains as the company head office.