Locations for a new health and wellbeing centre in Keighley were considered at a joint meeting of the Council’s social care and health improvement committees this evening.

Issues including parking provision, traffic, and capacity for expansion were discussed at the meeting at Keighley Town Hall.

It was also announced that the consultation, due to end in March, has been extended until the end of April due to the retirement of a Keighley doctor, whose practice caters for 8,000 patients. Dr Shaikh Abdul Alim’s North Street and Vale Street surgeries will be run by NHS Bradford and Airedale in the short term.

The consultation has been extended to allow patients to consider whether they would like their surgeries to be included as part of the new centre.

The development will either be on the grounds of the existing health centre, in Oakworth Road, or at Bradford Road, between the railway station and Victoria Park roundabout.

Deputy chief executive at NHS Bradford and Airedale Helen Hirst told the meeting that responses to the consultation so far had been mostly in favour of the smaller Oakworth Road site.

She said it was the most exciting development ongoing.

Councillor Amir Hussain (Lab, Toller) said: “The key thing that is coming out is value for money. In my opinion that favours the Bradford Road site because there is room there to expand in the future.”

Councillor Valerie Binney (Con, Thornton and Allerton) said: “My concern is people travelling to the Bradford Road site. People are going to have to travel further and it doesn’t look as if it is going to be easy.”

People can express views by e-mailing comments to consultation@bradford.nhs.uk or by attending one of a series of public meetings to discuss the issue.

These are on Wednesday, February 24, at 7pm, in the main hall, at the Keighley College, Cavendish Street, on Tuesday, March 16, at 2pm, in Victoria Hall, Hard Ings Road, and on Thursday, March 18, at 7pm, at Highfield Community Centre, Drewry Road.