A taste of the continent would be on the menu for Shipley, if people living there got their wish.

A food-themed town with outdoor cafes and a central play area were just some of the ideas suggested at a drop-in day to encourage people to think creatively about the area.

And councillors are keen to ensure the ideas are seriously looked at by Bradford Council.

Other suggestions included more community events, improved areas for socialising, more to do on an evening, an aquarium, petting zoo and commissioned art being projected on the indoor market’s clock tower.

An ambitious suggestion to knock down the Kirkgate market building to open up the town and views across Baildon Moor was also mooted, with a proposal that landlords could convert existing shops on Market Square into smaller units for market traders.

Whilst some of the ideas suggested at the Kirkgate Centre’s community day on Saturday would take years of work and investment, ward councillor Kevin Warnes said smaller ideas were possible.

One idea was improving signposting from the train station to town centre – something Coun Warnes (Green) said was being worked on by officers with £90,000 allocated for the work.

He said the suggestions were inspiring and the drop-in session was an excellent chance for people to suggest ideas, rather than have them suggested to them.

He said: “What struck me about the process was that it was inclusive. Very accessible to local people, very open, and hopefully what it will do is provide another layer of quality to the Council’s planning process in relation to Shipley town centre.”

Fellow ward and Green councillor Hawarun Hussain said the majority of suggestions were achievable.

“I’m definitely going to ensure that this gets looked at by Bradford Council,” she said.

Paul Barrett and Maya Williams from the centre said the event, which will feed into Bradford Council’s consultation on its Bradford-Shipley Canal Road Corridor blueprint for the area’s development, attracted 100 people. Mr Barrett said getting landlords to think about the variety of businesses they let to would also help.

He said: “I think there’s work to be done with landlords with them looking at how the high street works.”