The magic of the Cottingley Fairies' birthplace could be overshadowed if a developer's plans to build 60 houses near the site gets the go-ahead.

Bradford Council planners will meet this week to decide on the application which has been recommended for approval by planning officers.

Conservative councillor Simon Cooke (Bingley Rural) is championing the fight against the development at Cottingley Moor Road, saying it will destroy the area's charm.

"I am very concerned about developing this piece of land. It will be a kick in the teeth for Cottingley - people who have seen the film of the Fairies and want to see where it all happened,'' he said.

"To be told they have to walk through a housing estate to see this mythical place will take away the charm.

"I am not saying the site should not be developed at all but we don't think that the objections of local people have been satisfactorily addressed by the report.

"There should be a far more extensive look at the historical significance of the site. It has not changed dramatically since the two little girls, Frances Griffiths and Elsie Wright, took their photographs."

He also has major worries about education and traffic problems if the site, the size of four football pitches, gets the go-ahead.

Twenty letters of objection have been received and two petitions signed by 190 people protesting about the development on land split into two areas by Cottingley Beck - the home of the famous Cottingley Fairies.

In 1978 an attempt to develop the site was refused on the grounds that it formed part of the Green Belt but now the bulk of it is a Committed Housing site.

Conservative group leader Coun Margaret Eaton (Bingley Rural) said she too was concerned about what was proposed. "We have to protect the area where the Fairies legend began and the nature of the story -- people won't believe it otherwise.''

Shipley MP Chris Leslie added his voice to the objectors, saying: " I don't like the idea of it and I think we need to look at making Cottingley a conservation area to give it a measure of protection."

Resident Ann Stuart, of Manor Field, Cottingley, said: "It's going to be right in front of our houses, cutting through a wood. It will spoil the character of Cottingley and of the Fairies which is in a very picturesque dell."

Ex-headmaster Malcolm Bentley of March Cote Lane, Cottingley, who is compiling a video on the Fairies, said the development would be a disaster for the area. He said: "It would totally ruin it.''

But Charles Patchett, of Queensbury developers Patchett Homes, denied the plans would have an adverse effect on the Fairies site. He said: "We are hoping to retain the woodland and the trees are under a preservation order. It will actually be more accessible."

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