Residents are being urged to speak out on the future of their village which could increase by 40 per cent under new planning proposals.

The Pool-in-Wharfedale appraisal team has been working for several months on forming a wide-ranging questionnaire to identify the needs and assets of the village.

Following the publication of a draft report for the Leeds Unitary Development Plan, they say the final document could be crucial in making sure Pool gets the facilities and road improvements it needs.

And a public meeting has now been planned to launch the questionnaire on January 25 in the village's Methodist Church Hall, Main Street, at 7.30pm.

The draft UDP earmarks several key sites for development, including housing on Green Belt land in Swallow Drive, and it suggests a western bypass to alleviate pressure on the A658. Further house building is recommended for Whitegates, at Arthington Lane, and infill building at sites along that lane. Sand and gravel extraction is also recommended for approval at Midgley Farm.

David Mortimer, appraisal group chairman, said: "We are hoping as many people as possible will come along. It is an important stage of the process.

"More and more residents have been coming to meetings since we started the group, so hopefully with a big push, we can get a lot more."

Parish council chairman Chris Leggatt said the appraisal could prove vital for any developments resulting from the UDP.

"I think this is going to be absolutely essential if we are to have any impact on the plans recommended by the UDP inspector. It will be extremely important," he said.

Eight hundred copies of the questionnaire will be distributed to every household in the village, containing around 80 questions on a variety of issues from road safety and traffic to housing, sports facilities and schools.

Once the project has been launched, organisers hope to collect completed questionnaires by the end of February and are aiming to produce the final document by the end of March.

Mr Mortimer added: "We could find there are a couple of hitches along the way but that is the time scale we are looking at."

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