Bradford Council will spend £45,000 re-laying an Oxenhope road used by only a handful of people.

Outside Lane is not a through road and is only used to access several rural properties, but a recent survey found it to be one of the worst in Keighley district.

The decision to spend the cash – nearly a quarter of the total made available for roads maintenance in the district – has been defended by ward councillors.

Councillor Russell Brown said: “The road is in a very poor state – it’s like a moonscape, and I wouldn’t really want to walk down it, never mind drive along it.

“It’s difficult this has come up at a time when budgets are tight, but it needs doing.”

Bradford Council’s Keighley Area Committee approved works last Thursday on the 650-metre stretch of Outside Lane as part of £206,000-worth of highway maintenance projects.

Highways officer, Keith Escritt, told the committee: “If we don’t do this, it could cause bigger problems down the line. I’m uncomfortable spending that much on something that might only serve ten households, but we have to do this.”

Speaking after the meeting, Worth Valley ward councillor, Rebecca Poulsen, said: “It’s a lot of money, but if that’s what is necessary, I can’t really object.

“I would hope this is for a full, proper repair. Generally, I’m in favour of that, rather than a patch job that would need re-doing in six months.”

Keighley Area Committee chairman, Coun Steve Pullen, said: “The officers who assessed the road concluded if they don’t do something now, it could cost ten times as much in years to come.

“It’s a shame we don’t have more money – we’re trying to do the best we can with what we have.”

Other resurfacing funding allocated includes £50,000 for North Dean Road in Keighley and £18,000 for Swartha Lane in Silsden, as well as for schemes in Riddlesden and Eastburn.