A 24-METRE wide sign celebrating Captain Tom Moore and his fundraising efforts has been installed in Keighley town centre.

The huge set of coloured letters was erected today just a couple of days after receiving planning permission from Bradford Council.

Planning officers said the temporary sign – on the controversial former Keighley College site in North Street – would “benefit community morale”.

The council has earmarked the site for an office block but townspeople are campaigning for it to become a permanent ‘urban park’ dedicated to Tom or the late historian Ian Dewhirst.

The captain became a national hero due to his fundraising walks to raise money for NHS charities.

His sponsored walks up and down his Bedfordshire garden on the run-up to his 100th birthday captured the nation’s imagination and raised £33 million.

It led to him being knighted and even scoring a Number One single - a duet with Michael Ball on a cover of You’ll Never Walk Alone.

Captain Tom also became a local hero, because he was born and raised in Keighley.

That was why Russell Brown, who represents Worth Valley ward on Bradford Council, decided Tom deserved a highly-visible tribute in the town centre, and offered to build it himself at cost price.

He teamed up with Keighley Town Council, who provided £1,000 towards the costs and submitted a planning application to install a temporary 24m by 2.3m sign at the site.

The sign spells out ‘Capt Tom - Keighley Lad’, similar to the famous Hollywood sign in Los Angeles.

Cllr Brown, who spent several weeks building the sign in Haworth, said the idea grew out of original plans by several townspeople including himself to erect a sign highlighting Keighley’s involvement in Bradford’s City of Culture project.

Cllr Brown said: “Unfortunately that came to a halt because of Covid-19, but when we heard about Capt Tom and realised he was from Keighley we wanted to pay tribute to him.

“Keighley is a great place with great things going on. Tom is just one of those characters from Keighley that says what the town is about.”

The application was approved by Bradford Council this week.

Officers said the sign would technically cause harm to the town’s Conservation Area - home to a number of listed buildings.

But they agreed that the community pride created by the sign, and its temporary nature, would overcome these concerns.

The report from planning officers said: “The size and location is such that the display will affect the setting of buildings and the character and appearance of the conservation area.

“However, such effects will be short-lived and reversible. The installation will be dismantled and taken away upon completion of the period for display.

“Any harm will be less than substantial and outweighed by notable public benefits in terms of community morale in commemorating this native of Keighley during the Covid19 pandemic.”

One of the conditions of the approval is that the sign can only remain in place for seven months.

The plans come at a time when the future of the former college site is being debated.

Bradford Council has previously announced that the site would become a £9 million ‘public sector hub’ - home to different public agencies like the police.

But there have been calls to keep the site as a public open space..

A campaign has started to create a new ‘urban park’ at the site - named in honour of NHS workers, Captain Tom the late keeper historian Ian Dewhirst.

Keighley town Council today said the sign had been erected on the Keighley Boys Grammar School, which Tom attended whilst during his time living in Keighley.

A town council spokesman said: “Captain Tom who raised millions of pounds for the NHS and inspired the nation was born and raised in Keighley.

“The 23ft long sign reads Capt Tom – Keighley Lad. Each letter of Captain Tom is a colour from the rainbow and the hyphen is the NHS logo. The Keighley Lad is painted an eye-catching yellow.

“The project was the idea of Russell Brown from Spaces to Inspire who did similar art installations for the Tour De Yorkshire in recent years.

“Keighley Town Council will also honour Captain Tom will the freedom of the town as a recognition for his lifetime of public service and his fundraising efforts.”

Keighley town mayor Cllr Peter Corkinda was present for the unveiling this week.

He said: “We wanted to show how much the people of Keighley appreciate what Captain Tom has done and also to recognise the amazing contribution of NHS staff and taff and care workerthe Covid-19 pandemic.

“The sign is in a prominent place in the town centre and it will certainly be eye catching to passers-by.”

In addition to the thank you sign, Keighley Town Council is working with partner organisations such as the Yorkshire Society for a large public celebration once large gathering are allowed.

The sign is likely to be in place until November this year.