SCHEME ‘MAY DIVERT TRADE’ (From Keighley News)

SCHEME ‘MAY DIVERT TRADE’

9:00am Tuesday 9th August 2011 in News By David Knights

A leading town councillor has expressed concern about a planned £30 million development in Keighley.

Andrea Walker wants to ensure the leisure, housing and business complex does not affect existing businesses.

She is also concerned about how the Chatsworth Works project will affect already-congested town centre traffic.

Coun Walker is chairman of the town council’s general purposes committee and her ward includes the site of the development.

The Worthington Group last week unveiled plans to build on its five-acre site between Dalton Lane and Bradford Road.

Proposed are a 1,000-seat cinema, a 100-bedroom budget hotel, 100 homes, two food outlets and several industrial units.

Bradford Council regeneration chiefs last week hailed the project as a vote of confidence in Keighley.

Coun Walker agrees that development of the mostly-derelict site – behind Keighley Fire Station – could be good for the town.

But she was not convinced that all the facilities proposed for the site were needed, including housing and retail units.

Coun Walker said: “It would be nice to see the site developed in some way but not to take business away from the centre of Keighley.

“I know we need a hotel in Keighley. We need a central one. They’ve got a perfectly good site for a hotel by the old college building on North Street.

“They would have to look at the traffic situation because it’s already quite bad. Once you get to Keighley, it snarls up.”

Coun Walker wondered whether a new cinema was needed, adding: “It would take business away from the Picture House. We have a perfectly good cinema.”

Coun Walker also questioned whether the Dalton Lane area was a safe place for the development, bearing in mind incidents such as the New Year’s Day fire at nearby Dalton Mills.

Worthington Group submitted a planning application to Bradford Council last week for the project, and will negotiate with council regeneration and planning officers over the details.

Chatsworth Works was, until recently, occupied by West Yorkshire Spinners, which has now moved its 36 employees to new premises in Royd Ings.