Campaigners and councillors have slammed Bradford Council after a major meeting to discuss plans for 300 new homes in a village was cancelled.

The Council has been accused of an “utterly appalling” waste of time and public money and of conducting a “farce” after the Shipley area planning panel meeting in Menston was ended just minutes after starting on Tuesday morning.

And, last night, new details were emerging revealing how the Council failed to consult with a statutory body in the case, despite a written report saying it had.

The Environment Agency (EA) revealed it had not been contacted by the Council about applications by Barratt Homes to build 174 homes at Derry Hill and Taylor Wimpey to construct 125 homes at Bingley Road at any point until last Friday – just four days before the final decision was due.

The revelation comes more than a year after the Derry Hill application was submitted and more than ten months after the Bingley Road scheme was put forward.

But in July, two reports to the planning panel carried comments, which claimed to be from the EA.

Yesterday, an EA spokesman said: “We were first consulted by Bradford Council on the Derry Hill and Bingley Road planning applications on Friday, September 23..

“We have not provided any information or views to the Council on these two applications before this point.”

It is believed the Council only asked for comments from the EA on Friday, after being initially contacted by the agency, which in turn had spoken to a solicitor representing campaigners battling against the applications.