THE leader of a campaign against a proposed Silsden supermarket will take her fight to the council chamber today.

Wendy Neville plans to address Bradford councillors who are due to decide whether to approve a planning application for the former Becks Mill site off Keighley Road.

Mrs Neville has gathered a petition signed by more than 800 people objecting to plans to build the supermarket, petrol station and car park.

Residents and councillors have expressed concern about the supermarket’s potential impact on shops in Silsden, and a possible increase in traffic congestion. They question the need for another supermarket when the town already has a Co-op and an Aldi.

The project, which also includes new all-weather pitches for nearby sports clubs, has been recommended for approval by the council’s regulatory and appeals committee.

The recommendation includes a condition that the applicants change plans for the supermarket’s access road, so it could also be used to reach a potential housing site to the north of Becks Mill.

The developers will have to pay £100,000 towards a new cycle and footbridge across the busy A629 Aire Valley road to link Silsden to the railway station.

They must also agree to carry out work on both Keighley Road and the Kirkgate/Elliott Street/Clog Bridge junction, to minimise any traffic problems caused by the supermarket.

Property developers Silvermantle initially applied for permission for the supermarket last year with the intention it would become a Tesco, and decided to continue with the application after Tesco pulled out.

Mrs Neville plans to give a presentation to today’s meeting on behalf of the 800-plus residents who signed the petition.

She said: “Our view is that the building of an additional supermarket will have significant adverse impact on the existing Co-operative supermarket and on the viability and viability of the town centre.”

“The heart of Silsden is at stake and the livelihood of many members of its community.”

Mrs Neville and fellow campaigner Val Carroll last month visited the new Aldi store to ask customers how they had travelled there, discovering the vast majority had used their cars.

Mrs Neville added: “Car journeys through Silsden have increased and causing tailbacks through the town, and to the Aire Valley trunk road.

“The introduction of another retail development could only add greatly to the car journeys going through Silsden and create further traffic chaos.”

The petition calls for the Becks Mill site be re-zoned for housing.