A KEIGHLEY site could become a multi-million pound industrial estate, a new report has revealed.

The site, known as Beechcliffe, is to the west of the A629, near the Hard Ings roundabout – and is a vacant, Bradford Council owned plot of land.

Next week, councillors will be told that the site could soon become a 150,000 square foot industrial park thanks to £7m from the Towns Fund – a huge pot of cash awarded to Keighley by Government.

The Council’s Regeneration and Environment Scrutiny Committee will meet next Tuesday, and hear more detail of the plan to transform the site into a development that will “increase the stock of Keighley’s industrial accommodation.”

Keighley was awarded £33m by Government as part of the Towns Fund – a scheme aimed at regenerating the town.

As part of this, £14m was allocated for a programme called the ‘Development Investment Fund’ – a fund to transform derelict buildings or empty sites in the town.

In April £6.5m from this pot was awarded to Providence Park – a development of business units on the corner of Dalton Lane and Bradford Road.

That scheme is expected to create 80 jobs.

And a report to next week’s scrutiny committee reveals that the Beechcliffe development is likely to cost around £7m.

It says the work will “remediate a brownfield site, provide highway access and ultimately deliver a new industrial park providing up to 150,000 sq ft of new business accommodation.”

A public footpath through the site, linking Hard Ings Road to Utley, will remain in place, and be upgraded as part of the work.

The report to the committee says: “The redevelopment of this site will increase the stock of Keighley’s industrial accommodation and provide employment opportunities for all residents.”

“This very specific fund is targeted towards remediation and redevelopment of identified brownfield sites and properties which increase the supply of business accommodation in the Keighley Towns Fund area.

“Redevelopment of brownfield sites takes pressure off the requirement to allocate greenfield sites for similar developments.”

Members will hear that the work will take place in two phases. Phase one will be feasibility work to discover the level of work required to secure planning permission, remediate the site, and construct an access road.

The second phase will be “the physical works to prepare the site for development of a new industrial park.”

The report adds: “At this stage we are confident a project can be delivered within an initial cost envelope in the region of £7m of the Towns Fund budget allocation.”