A massive public consultation exercise is being set up in a bid to give people across the district a say on a vital planning blueprint.

Council chiefs say it is a key opportunity for residents to have input on proposals which will affect their lives for the next 15 years.

The Council plans to get the details of the next Unitary Development Plan to the public by delivering a free news sheet giving details to every home.

Britain's fourth biggest metropolitan authority will also set up a website to show the proposed use of millions of acres of land for housing, open space, employment, industry or green fields.

But Council chiefs warn that people should express their support for as well as objections to the Unitary Development plan.

Thousands of people who had not registered their backing of proposals protecting land lost out with the last UDP because the road was left open for developers to step in.

The previous UDP drew 20,000 objections and led to an 18-month public inquiry conducted by five Government inspectors at Salts Mill, Saltaire.

Consultation on the first draft of the new UDP will be launched next month and the Council's executive member for the environment Councillor Anne Hawkesworth said it was the key opportunity for anyone who was unhappy with the plan to object.

Consultation will run from June 25 and last for six weeks.

In the first ten days, drop-in sessions will take place at locations including Bradford, Keighley, Bingley and Ilkley centres.

Sessions will also be held in the Worth Valley, Thorpe Edge, Thornbury, Great Horton, Tong, Manningham, Thornton and Clayton.

Meetings will be held with organisations, and communities will be urged to get involved.

Coun Hawkesworth said: "We are working towards the most comprehensive consultation process we could possibly have. We want people to be guided and helped in making representations."

The new UDP sets out to preserve green fields for the time being and concentrate on developing in the city centre and the district's main towns.

Some controversial sites , including Jenny Lane, Baildon, will be returned to the green belt.

The new UDP will be used as a yardstick for planning applications for the next 15 years and replaces the existing plan drawn up in the mid-1990s.

After the consultation, changes will be made to the document and at the end of the year a second deposit plan will be produced, leading to a public inquiry at the end of next year.