Developing a green-field site for employment would halt regeneration in the city centre, lead to continued civil unrest in Bradford and destroy the fabric of society, a public inquiry heard.

Objectors to a £110million scheme to create a business park on the site at West Bowling Golf Club voiced their concerns at the replacement Unitary Develop-ment Plan inquiry at Victoria Hall, Saltaire, yesterday.

They said there were plenty of brown-field sites in Bradford which should be developed first.

Members of the West Bowling Golf Club Preservation Group said the club was a vital service in the area which contained a microcosm of nature and enhanced the beauty of the city.

Robin Hodgins said: "There are large tracts of undeveloped land in Bradford. We must stop out-of-town developments such as this as they lead to the death of the city centre. It leads to the continuing deterioration of the fabric of society and civil unrest as we have witnessed in Bradford."

He said there was no justification in using the land for employment as it would simply replace jobs in the city centre.

"The inquiry needs to consider the long-term benefits for the community of the loss of this site," he said. "During the recent planning process the number of potential jobs was amended from 8,000 to 5,000 in a week. We pose the question, how many will be displacement? How many are temporary jobs created by the construction work?"

Inspector John Gillis said the site formed an attractive landscape which created a good impression of Bradford and asked Bradford Council officer Gerry McGuckin how its loss would affect the community.

Mr McGuckin said: "It does have aesthetic value but it is a private club and it is restricted in what it offers to the community.

"As an employment site it has much more value. The potential benefits of it far override what it offers as a golf club."

He said that although Bradford had a lot of brown-field sites these were restricted by geography such as hillsides and valleys.