A Shipley councillor has blown a fuse at plans to spend up to £10,000 from a highways budget on Christmas lights.

Councillor Tony Miller (Lab, Shipley East) said he was furious money allocated by Bradford Council's executive committee to its Shipley community area panel was not being earmarked for traffic calming, road improvement or street lighting schemes.

Last month the executive committee agreed to share £125,000 of unallocated money from this year's highway works budget among Bradford's five community area panels for special highways projects - £25,000 each.

Councillor Anne Hawkesworth, executive member for the environment, said in the past many communities had been upset about a lack of funding for Christmas lights, adding that the one-off allocation could be used for that or road repair, highway safety or street lighting.

An officers' report to Thursday evening's Shipley area panel meeting at Saltaire's Victoria Hall recommends members approve allocating up to £10,000 of the money for Christmas light improvements in Shipley, Bingley, Saltaire and Baildon.

But Councillor Miller said: "Every year there are lots of schemes requested that we can't develop because we haven't got enough money.

"This money should be spent on some of the traffic calming or street lighting schemes we haven't been able to do but which will improve safety.

"I'm not being Scrooge-like and of course it's desirable to have these lights up, but, alongside health and safety, they shouldn't be a priority.

"I'll be making a real song and dance about it at the meeting but I'm just one bulb on the chandelier as the only Labour panel member.''

Area panel chairman Councillor David Herdson (Con, Shipley West) said: "I seem to remember Labour asking a question about the 'dismal display' in Bradford, and this is one way in which we can try and answer that, certainly in the Shipley area.

"The council has a responsibility beyond just maintaining the roads. Things like Christmas lights are very popular - they brighten places up, bring a smile to people's faces and stimulate economic activity so I'm sure it will be well received by the public and traders.

"I'm sure people wouldn't want to have a very drab Christmas if that's what Tony's proposing.''

He said the panel had separate budgets for street lighting and road safety schemes, adding that the rest of the £25,000 was likely to be spent on "more traditional'' highways schemes such as road or footpath improvements, traffic calming or verge hardening.

A report detailing a range of schemes which could be funded by the allocation, will go to the panel's September meeting.