Sutton councillors are urging colleagues to vote against plans to develop three South Craven villages.

Cllr Steve Place and Cllr Ken Hart say it is imperative members at Tuesday's Craven council meeting shout 'no' to an inspector's recommendations to earmark additional land for potential development in Glusburn, Sutton and Cross Hills.

The protest stems from a three-year-old draft local plan published by Craven council zoning land for development. Following a public inquiry, the inspector is now recommending extra sites be set aside within the villages' settlement limits.

But cllr Place and cllr Hart say there are only four fields dividing the three villages from Eastburn, which falls into Bradford council's district, and that land should be protected against development. They claim all three villages will lose their identities in the long term and become part of the Bradford sprawl if building work is given the go-ahead.

Cllr Place says: "Two of the fields are in North Yorkshire and the other two are in West Yorkshire. If development is carried out on them then these villages will no longer have their own communities. We will be part of a bigger community and the future will be harder for us to fight if that last vestige of green grass disappears.

"I am not talking about the near future but what it will be like in 30 years time. I don't see why we have to expand like an amoeba. This is the talk of the pubs."

The report first appeared on last month's economic and development committee agenda but was deferred for a decision by South Craven's five district councillors.

Cllr Hart says: "I think that the officers at the council were wrong to even think about putting the report on that packed agenda. We should have held a special meeting to discuss it right from the word go."

The two councillors demand that clearly defined borders be set out between North and West Yorkshire and bans on development between Eastburn and Sutton, Glusburn and Cross Hills be imposed.

Part of their concern lies with the protection rights placed on the playing fields belonging to South Craven School, Cross Hills, and Glusburn Primary School.

At the moment, Craven council's policy states that no development can take place on the playing fields. But in his report, the inspector has recommended the fields be given lesser protection which means the fields could be used for new buildings, though alternative playing fields would have to be found somewhere else within the settlement limit.

Cllr Place adds: "There is enough land already marked out for development without having to use the playing fields."

The inspector has also recommended the villages absorb a larger share of development than other parts of the district, except Skipton, even though together the three villages make up the second largest centre of population in Craven.

But Craven planning chiefs say the recommendations are very specific about which areas should be developed and say that the playing fields have not been recommended for development.

The inspector's recommendations will be discussed at an extraordinary meeting of the council on Tuesday.

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