Controversial plans to build a £500,000 two-storey office block next to Harden Cricket Club have been given the thumbs down by villagers.

About 60 residents attended a meeting of Harden Village Society to protest about the plans by the high-tech ICR group, which says it is the village's largest employer, to dramatically expand its business.

The company which provides cutting edge services to support call centre and e-commerce activities throughout the UK wants to increase its work force from 26 to 75.

It also wants to create a 73-space car park and claims there is no where else in the area where it could expand.

But residents are furious that green belt land which is jointly owned by Harden Cricket Club and Bradford Council/St Ives Trust, is threatened along with 28 trees all of which are covered by tree preservation orders.

They fear that their picturesque village is about to be turned into a huge car park.

Last week the chairman of the society, Councillor Robin Owens, (Con, Bingley) described the 1,000 square metre block as a 'monstrosity'.

At the meeting he said reaction to the plans on the doorstep "bordered on the violent".

One protester, Chris Raine, who voted against the plans, told the meeting that: "What we have is a clear breach of the green belt."

Two of the protesters Stuart Graves, 54, and his partner Caroline Broadley, 48, live opposite the proposed development and have gathered more than 300 signatures opposing the plans.

He said that Jonathan Smith, ICR's managing director, should have attended the meeting to answer all the criticisms.

But afterwards Mr Smith, 37, said he had been told by Coun Owens he could not attend - a claim denied by Coun Owens.

Mr Smith said that the plans would create employment and enhance the future of the cricket club of which ICR is the main sponsor. The scheme would mean 28 poor quality trees being chopped down but more than 1,000 planted in their place.

He said: "We are bursting at the seams and have nowhere else to go. We started up in May 1996 and we are now the leading independent consultancy group in the UK. From a business point of view if we don't stay local we will move - the only alternatives are Leeds or Skipton."

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.