Campaigners in Menston are planning to call a parish referendum to help block the development of former greenfield sites.

Members of Menston Action Group (MAG) hope to use powers listed in the 1972 Local Government Act to ask villagers whether they want 300 new homes.

The step was due to be taken after they hand-delivered hundreds of letters opposing Taylor Wimpey’s application to build 124 homes on Bingley Road to Bradford Council yesterday.

A similar protest last September saw more than 1,000 objections submitted against Barratt Homes’ proposals to construct 174 houses on Derry Hill.

Both sites were re-designated for housing by a Government planning inspector in 2004, contrary to recommendations from Bradford Council.

MAG has called for a decision on both to be postponed until new guidelines allowing local people more influence on planning come into force.

The group’s president, Philip Moore, said: “We think that it is inappropriate to determine applications of this scale and controversy before the introd-uction of the Localism Bill.

“Greg Clark (Minister of State for Communities and Local Government) told us last year that Menston could become the first community in the country to take advantage of proposed new rules in planning.”

He also said they were unhappy with suggestions that Shipley planning panel could discuss the applications in Bradford’s City Hall. “This venue will severely restrict many residents from attending, particularly the elderly and infirm,” he said.

“It is not possible to move wheelchairs up the footbridge at Menston station to access the platform to Bradford. We think the panel should be convened at Kirklands Community Centre so that all residents who wish to attend can do so and so that the councillors can easily view the sites at Derry Hill and Bingley Road so that they can visualise our concerns.”

Under local government rules, six or more parishioners can convene a parish meeting to consider a matter of local concern.

Menston Parish Council and Menston Community Association object to the housing, saying the village and transport infrastruc-ture will not cope, but developers say the plans will help meet targets for affordable housing.