PLANNING bosses have reacted to fears that planned cycle paths to link Ilkley up to local and national routes could spoil the green belt.

Parish councillors in Ilkley were worried that safer routes for cycle riders could mean eyesores for residents and visitors.

The cycle routes have been put on Bradford's new Unitary Development Plan (UDP) but no details have been included.

At a recent parish council planning committee meeting, chairman Audrey Brand said members wanted reassurance from Bradford Council that Ilkley's cycle routes would not result in green spaces being filled in with concrete to make way for them.

A Bradford Council spokesman said: "We have just completed an extensive consultation on the Unitary Development Plan which includes a number of proposals for cycle routes.

"We will be looking at any representations made on this particular route before taking the proposals any further.

"If there are unresolved objections to the route shown on the UDP these would be considered by the inspector in the inquiry into the plan.

"Consequently, no decision will be made on the design of the cycle route, or the materials to be used, before consideration of any representations on the UDP and further consultation has taken place with users of the route and local people. We are always sensitive to the type of environment a cycle route runs through and, in this case, we are aware that the proposed line runs through open fields."

Coun Brand said she was not convinced that cycle routes would be as popular as they were expected to be.

She said that she had witnessed very few cyclists using the cycle lane marked out on the A65 through Ilkley.