Keighley urgently needs a traffic strategy for its town centre, according to Councillor Graham Mitchell.

The watch and transport committee chairman told members of Keighley Town Council that despite fast progress on the Park Lane College and Asda developments, no decision had been made on how to resolve the increase in traffic they will generate.

He said: “Those of you who were in the town centre in the middle of last week could not fail to notice that traffic was almost at a standstill on several days, caused by just one carriageway being resurfaced on Skipton Road.

“We now have so much volume of traffic in the centre that just one restriction, sometimes just one inappropriately parked vehicle, causes hold-ups and tailbacks.

“The watch and transport committee cares about Keighley.

“We hate to see the town centre being slowly strangled by steadily worsening traffic congestion, because congestion affects everyone.”

Cllr Ron Beale said the town council should go ahead and develop its own traffic strategy. Cllr David Miller said the issue was a “desperately important” one and noted congestion on Hard Ings Road was particularly bad.

Cllr Mitchell warned that the organisation most suitable for brokering a solution was itself under threat.

“The Keighley Transport Forum is in suspension and its future is in doubt,” he said. “Its very existence and purpose is being reviewed by the (Keighley) area committee.”

He asked all members of the council to urge district councillors, officers and other groups to re-enter discussions on how to tackle the problem.