Bradford Council’s Local Development Framework will probably be the most important planning document the Council has produced for many years.

It will earmark land for development as part of moves to have 45,000 houses built in the district by 2028. That is why it is vital that anybody who lives in the district and has any interest in how it moves forward should take part in the ongoing consultation exercise.

Once agreed, this document is likely to determine planning policies for the next 15 years.

And the consultation period is only open until the middle of January, which is why it is so vital that anybody with even a passing interest in how our district is going to develop should see it.

Today, as part of a series of articles, we highlight concerns raised in Wharfedale about the implications of the plan. Most districts will have similar concerns, particularly because of the sheer number of houses that need to be built and the impact that is likely to have on green belt land as well as brownfield sites.

No one will be surprised that residents are concerned about development close to them. But the most important thing for anyone with concerns to do is to take part in the consultation exercise. Read the relevant sections of the LDF and then construct a rational and relevant argument against any proposals you have concerns about.

It is not enough to simply say: Not in my backyard. Objectors need to be forearmed with knowledge, and now is the time to get that information. Once the consultation period is over it will be too late.

Whether the Council then listens to your views is an entirely different matter. But if you don’t put those views forward in the first place, you can have no grounds for complaint about how land ends up being allocated within this framework.