Heritage and rural campaigners have begun the fight to block the concreting over of fields close to Robin Hood’s grave.

Green belt land around the Cooper Bridge roundabout near the M62 has been earmarked for a large business park by Kirklees Council planners.

If approved a significant part of the historic Kirklees Hall estate could be developed to create space for more than 3,000 jobs.

Former Yorkshire Water sewage works on the other side of the roundabout are also included in the proposal.

Kirklees Council is pinning its hopes on delivering the site as it will enable funding for major road improvements to the heavily congested A62 and A644 roads.

Proposals for a business park close to Cooper Bridge

Taxes generated from business rates will also be crucial to keeping the council afloat.

At the public inquiry into Kirklees Council’s Local Plan, opponents made their cases against the proposal.

Ian Smith from Historic England told the Planning Inspector, Katie Child, that the council’s plan would cause significant harm to the many listed buildings on the Kirklees Hall estate

He said: “Fundamentally you are urbanising the rural setting of a Grade II listed historic park and gardens that provides the setting for the Grade I listed house.

“This is one of the largest groupings of listed buildings in West Yorkshire at Home Farm.

“Views across the park are going to be changed completely.

“In addition to that there’s a 16th century barn and 17th century farm house a little further up on Leeds Road.

“This is a development that’s going to lead to a high level of harm to a group of listed buildings that are very important to Kirklees as a place.”

Keith Bloomfield, a Kirklees Council highways official, said £77m of road funding to improve the jammed up routes around Cooper Bridge had been authorised on the basis of the site being approved, providing jobs and economic growth.

But Robert Bamforth, from the Campaign for the Protection of Rural England (CPRE), said the council was sacrificing the whole tourism potential of the Robin Hood and Bronte connections of the estate.

Folklore has it that in his dying moments, Robin Hood fired an arrow from Kirklees Hall and he was later buried where it landed.

All three Bronte sisters also visited the hall and walked the fields to their school, Roe Head, now Hollybank School, opposite Whiteley’s Garden Centre.

Mr Bamforth commented: “If you have a Japanese tourist and you say to them, Robin Hood died here and he shot his arrow over that warehouse, it doesn’t quite have the same ring to it.”

He added: “I’m also mystified how Kirklees can get away with calling this one site.

“They are vastly different, with quite different planning issues.

“We obviously support the redevelopment of the former sewage works and we don’t believe they should be treated as one site.”

Roundabout at Cooper Bridge, Huddersfield.

Mr Bamforth also highlighted large scale plans by Calderdale Council on the other side of the M62.

“Both councils are stretching the bounds of the green belt,” he said.

“The public will not understand.

“The only separation between Calderdale and Kirklees will be an open stretch of tarmac called the M62.”

The planning inspector asked council officials to investigate the merits of developing only the former sewage site on the south side of Leeds Road.

The inquiry continues.