A DEVELOPMENT plan for Kirklees could be a recipe for gridlock and pollution, said the Mayor of Mirfield.
Tory Clr Martyn Bolt said significant improvements were needed before proposals for a Strategic Economic Zone were decided in December this year by members of Kirklees Cabinet.
He said one proposal was for a strip zone which could take in 90 hectares of land and stretch from Huddersfield to Heckmondwike, centred on the A62 Leeds Road.
This could include both sides of the road from Cooper Bridge through to the Fountain Inn at Roberttown.
Residents in Hartshead, Roberttown and Mirfield needed to be vigilant, he said.
"I am sure most people would say we should have areas for employment. They would also say these areas should be apart from residential areas.
"We don't want to revert to the Victorian era with rows of houses leading to dark satanic mills," he said.
Homes were already situated all along the proposed zone.
Clr Bolt said Birstall was an example of how plans for a high grade industrial area had been allowed to be turned into a "mini Las Vegas" with neon signs lighting up the skyline.
He said there should be a guarantee that development would not fall prey to the same forces.
