NOT an inch.

That’s the message from Conservatives as they promise no development on green belt land in the run-up to a crucial housing decision.

Kirklees Council will decide on a 17-year development blueprint next week.

The Local Development Framework (LDF) drawn up by officers would lead to 25,400 new homes in the district by 2028 – including 2,500 houses on green belt land at Ainley Top and Dewsbury.

But Kirklees Conservatives today unveiled their alternative plan, which includes:

No use of green belt land for business and employment or housing.

Enterprise Action Zones for Leeds Road in Huddersfield and Bradford Road between Dewsbury and Batley.

Town centre development plans to promote them as locations for housing and businesses.

Prioritising the use of brownfield land for housing.

A new neighbourhood planning process to give communities choices about where developments take place in their neighbourhoods.

Clr Robert Light, who leads the 21-strong opposition Conservatives on Kirklees, said: “Our plans use brownfield land to create jobs, develop our declining town centres and set an ambition for housing development which is based on what can be developed and what our communities believe to be right for their areas.

“We have long opposed the house-building targets which were forced on Kirklees by the last Labour Government, at the time we said these would only be achieved by the mass use of green belt land and the officer plans prove that we were right then.

“Our view now is that to build an average 1,000 homes a year is more than enough for our borough.

“Our plans for the creation of neighbourhood plans offer a radical change from the ‘Kirklees knows best’, council-imposed development plans.”

Kirklees Lib Dems have also unveiled their proposal for long-term development in the district.

The 14-strong opposition group wants to bring an extra 58 hectares of ex-industrial land into employment use.

Lib Dem leader Clr Kath Pinnock told the Examiner yesterday: “The market for apartments isn’t coming back for a long time, so it would be really good to have small business units within the shell of the old mills.”

The Cleckheaton councillor believes mills on Manchester Road and Lockwood are ripe for redevelopment.

Clr Pinnock would also like to see a large area of Bradford Road between Dewsbury and Batley set aside for industrial use.

She added: “There are numerous disused industrial sites lying vacant and unused across the borough and we want the council to take positive steps to bring some of these back into use.

“More then ever, the council needs to work creatively to attract businesses to our available sites and a package of support and financial incentives we believe can help achieve this, creating jobs for local people, improving the local environment and protecting greenfield land from further development.”

The ruling Labour party and the four-strong Greens are yet to reveal their LDF proposals.

Councillors will decide on the blueprint at a special meeting at Huddersfield Town Hall from 10am on Wednesday.

Campaigners will protest against house-building plans at the weekend.

Save Grimescar Valley has organised the rally at Birchencliffe Cricket Club.

The group opposes the LDF, which could allow developers to build 850 homes on fields.

The rally will take place from 10am to 12.30pm on Saturday.