Plans for a new Keighley cycle and pedestrian path linking Stockbridge with Utley are now the subject of a full planning application.

The Bradford Council proposals for the £195,000 route featured in the Keighley News in September.

Leading cycling figures in the town welcomed the news, adding that they hoped the route could open in time for the influx of cyclists expected on local roads ahead of the Tour de France Grand Depart.

A description of the scheme, included as part of the council’s planning application, states: “The proposal is to construct a three-metre-wide fully surfaced track for use by both pedestrians and cyclists.

“The route will follow an existing unsurfaced track that links Royd Lane and Royd Ings Avenue across land currently owned by Bradford Council.

“The track is approximately 270 metres long, and will be funded from a grant received from Sustrans – a UK charity enabling people to travel by foot, bike or public transport.

“This will create a link for cyclists and pedestrians from Stockbridge to Utley, without them having to use the A650 Hard Ings Road and the B6265 Skipton Road.”

Bradford Council says the route will take cyclists from Stockbridge along Royd Ings Avenue, behind Cougar Park and along an old track under the Aire Valley trunk road to Beechcliffe.

The new path will enable its users to steer clear of three traffic-choked roundabouts.

This project was announced last April as one of 70 Safer Cycle Routes across the UK to be funded with government cash.

The Department for Transport granted £150,000 for the Keighley route, with a further £45,000 to come from other sources.

The shared cycle and pedestrian route will cross a site described as “disused brownfield”, and the planning application explains that the land will need to be levelled and cleared before construction can begin.