SENIOR councillors have backed key measures to help drive forward a £65 million major road scheme connecting Bradford and Kirklees.

The A641 improvement scheme passes through Brighouse, and senior Calderdale councillors approved measures including compulsory purchase powers for land needed for the project and side road orders to enable work to take place.

They also supported developing a bridge scheme for the Calder and Hebble Navigation canal in Brighouse.

Councillor Sarah Courtney, cabinet member for regeneration and transport, said the project aims to deliver interventions to support a more efficient transport network.

Walking, wheeling - wheelchairs, scooters, pushchairs, mobility aids and bicycles, will be prioritised, along with public transport.

The measures are central to supporting the council’s Local Plan – homebuilding which includes proposed garden villages at Woodhouse and Thornhill near Brighouse – in south east Calderdale, said Cllr Courtney (Lab, Calder).

“The scheme will aim to remove barriers to movement caused by busy roads and provide better connections between communities, improving safety, creating quality places, reducing carbon emissions and providing better access to job and education, whilst also promoting improvements in public health,” she said.

It's hoped the project will also bring benefits including safer junctions, new and improved traffic lights and crossings, and relieving congestion in Brighouse - where several “A” roads meet - the new bridge being a component.

The area for the scheme covers about three miles from the Calderdale-Bradford boundary at Bailiff Bridge and runs through Brighouse to the Calderdale-Kirklees boundary next to the M62 motorway.

The road can carry more than 20,000 vehicles in places on a busy day and suffers from traffic congestion and lack of facilities for people choosing to walk and cycle.

Some scheme elements will need planning permission, including parts of a greenway connecting Low Moor in Bradford to Brighouse town centre.

They include elements of the Lower Wyke walking and cycling route and Pickle Bridge Greenway – an off-road route – between Lower Wyke Lane to the Calderdale border in Bradford, and on to Thornhills Beck Lane, Brighouse, in Calderdale.

Calderdale routes between Bridge Road and Owler Ings Road linking Halifax Road roundabout to Rastrick Bridge and between Stratton Close and Crossley Street linking Brighouse Railway Station and Woodhouse, all at Brighouse, will also need planning permission, according to the briefing papers.

Cabinet members also agreed to enter into a Highways Act 1980 agreement with neighbours Bradford Council to drive the scheme, funded through West Yorkshire Combined Authority’s West Yorkshire-plus Transport Fund using Government cash, forward.

Compulsory purchase powers will only be used as a last resort if preferred acquisitions by agreement are not possible, the councillors agreed.

Proposals have been developed using feedback from consultation and engagement with local people.