BATTLE lines are being drawn over plans for a military display area at a therapy centre.
Bosses of the Ponderosa rural therapeutic centre, off Smithies Lane at Heckmondwike, want to create an area to display army equipment including tanks.
The centre is a rare breeds farm that uses animals as part of activity sessions for disabled and disadvantaged children.
But under the new plan there would be a combat area, where groups could do battle with laser guns. There would also an assault course and tents to be used as classrooms.
The Ponderosa has already taken bookings for weddings on the site, with plans for bridegrooms to be flown in, army-style, for ceremonies.
But Kirklees Council planning officers have recommended that the application is rejected because the land is in Green Belt.
Now Ponderosa owner Howard Cook said: “This is the first stage of a major £26m redevelopment for Heckmondwike.
“The 1940s and the Second World War are part of the national curriculum for schools and this would be a really hands-on experience for students.
“This would be a new experience for people coming to the Ponderosa, providing something fun for everyone to participate in.
“If it is turned down we will have to consider our position in Heckmondwike.’’
Kirklees’s Heavy Woollen Planning Sub-committee will make a decision on the plan tomorrow.
A report to the committee said: “In the absence of very special circumstances the proposals, by virtue of the array of equipment on the scale proposed, represents inappropriate development in the Green Belt and would be considered detrimental to the openness and character of the greenbelt.”
But Mr Cook said: “The whole of the Ponderosa is on Green Belt land. Without departure from the principles governing Green Belt in the past it wouldn’t be what it is today.”
