Campaigners say new plans to build homes in a canal-side conservation area could pave the way for a huge development nearby.

Bradford Council is applying for planning permission for 27 homes on land next to Airedale House in Micklethwaite Lane, Bingley – just yards from where builders want to build a controversial development of 400 homes.

The rival plans on a site in nearby Sty Lane are already due to go to a public inquiry after councillors rejected the scheme earlier in the year.

Campaigners have now expressed concerns if the latest plans are approved it could set a precedent for house-building on the controversial site next to the Leeds Liverpool Canal.

Campaigner Terry Brown, chairman of the Greenhill Action Group, which is fighting both sets of plans, said: “There has been an application on this site previously, but it was considered withdrawn.

“We were advised by the Council that it was being withdrawn because it should be considered alongside the Sty Lane development.

“They now seem to want to do it separately, and before the public inquiry, so we are asking people to object to this application.”

The deadline for objections is November 16, ahead of a final decision, which is expected to be made by Shipley Area Planning Panel on December 7.

  • For more on this story, see Wednesday's Telegraph & Argus