A £50,000 donation will be used to kick-start a project to improve an area of Keighley that could eventually become an open-air arena.

Supermarket giant Morrisons has presented the money to Keighley Town Centre Assoc-iation to launch the plans to improve Church Green.

The initial contribution will be used to add public art to the area in front of Keighley Shared Church and the adjacent car park.

A £25,000 sculpture, donated by the Rotary Club of Keighley, to celebrate this year's centenary of the Rotary Federation, could be the first to be erected on the land.

Future plans could include improvements to the car park, an open-air arena and stage for public entertainment, the flattening of the mound and pedestrianisation of Low Street.

Cllr Andrew Mallinson, a member of the town centre association, said: "That public art will prime the project.

"But I have outlined that it is not just about Church Green becoming an amenable area -- it is also about bringing the car park to a standard where it could get a safe car park award and Low Street becoming a pedestrian area."

He hoped a number of other bodies would be involved in the project, including several council departments and Keighley Town Council.

Planning officers, highways officers and the conservation department will be enlisted to overlook the improvements.

Public consultation would also be sought for more views about the plans.

Cllr Mallinson added: "We may organise consultation through the Keighley News or call a public meeting to see what people want, what market stallholders want and what other businesses want."

The whole project is expected to cost £200,000 and should be completed within two years. Other sources of funding will be sought, including lottery money.

Cllr Mallinson said: "It is seen as a valuable space. It has been talked about for two years at the town centre management group and the town council.

"The time is right because the Rotary Club wants to put in some money towards the public art.

"It is a real feel-good factor project. We are looking for a proper entertainment area that everybody can enjoy."

Deputy town mayor Cllr Tony Wright, who undertook a site visit at the end of last year, said the town council was behind the bid.

He said: "We want the hill to be levelled off because we have got an area where we can put in street signs, have competitions and entertainment.

"It is a central place in Keighley and it was the site of the original market in the town."