NEW flats, shops, business units and jobs are all in the pipeline as part of a multi-million-pound regeneration in Keighley.

A package of separate schemes is set to bring brownfield sites back into use and give a huge boost to a large area of the town.

Plans for a four-storey building ­– incorporating 24 flats, with commercial units on the ground floor – have been approved.

It will be built on land next to Khalid’s Restaurant, at the junction of Bradford Road and Low Mill Lane.

And supermarket giant Aldi has reaffirmed its commitment to constructing a new £10 million store on a derelict site in nearby East Parade.

The company was given permission for a new supermarket, to replace its current Gresley Road outlet, in January last year.

But the retailer subsequently revealed it was proposing a revised scheme, and a fresh planning application was submitted to Bradford Council.

In addition to the new store, Aldi is seeking approval for retail units facing onto East Parade and a drive-through coffee shop.

A spokesperson for the firm said this week: "Aldi remains fully committed to the site and is working with the council to secure permission this year."

Also, Keighley schemes are among several bids being submitted by the council – totalling over £100 million – for 'levelling-up' funding from the Government.

Working with partner organisations, the council plans to give education and training a boost to drive high-skilled and highly-paid local jobs. Keighley College and Bradford University Advanced Manufacturing Hub would be reconfigured and expanded to include a new state-of-the-art facility supporting research and development in emerging technologies, such as advanced robotics.

The council has also put in a bid so it can partner with private developers to clear and upgrade six brownfield sites around business development zones in Dalton Lane and Royd Ings Avenue, which it says would provide 32,000 square metres of "prime business space" – and a possible 700-plus jobs.

Keighley mayor, Councillor Luke Maunsell, says all the potential schemes are "very good news" for the town.

He added: "The building of the new Aldi store in particular should increase footfall, whilst also giving a much-needed upgrade to a current eyesore which is in desperate need of regeneration.

"Further to this, the bid to build the Keighley College and Bradford University Advanced Manufacturing Hub is really just what the town needs. Not only will it develop brownfield sites, it will also help the industry get ahead of the new and emerging technologies – as well as facilitating possible groundbreaking research.

"Furthermore, the new jobs, flats and brand new retail spaces on offer would only serve to boost the town further.

"I hope these new opportunities come to fruition soon. They have real potential to benefit local people and businesses in numerous ways."

Keighley MP, Robbie Moore, said the Government's levelling-up fund presented "a great opportunity to secure tens of millions of pounds in investment for Keighley and the wider district" and he supported the bid.

He added: "We have already seen this Government ringfence funds for Keighley via the Towns Fund and this bid will bring further important improvements to our transport and economic offering – as well as securing much-needed funding for the regeneration of the town, bringing brownfield sites back into use. This application for funds is of course on top of the £33.6 million that has already been secured for Keighley as part of the Government’s Towns Fund programme."

Councillor Susan Hinchcliffe, leader of Bradford Council, said: “Bradford district represents an incredible opportunity for the Government to deliver its levelling up agenda.

“We have worked hard to develop a range of bold bids designed to unleash our economic potential, deliver jobs and prosperity and address deprivation and health inequalities.

“We are the UK’s number one levelling up opportunity and if supported, these bids will provide game-changing benefits to the district and our residents.”