Plans for a new cycle and pedestrian path linking parts of Keighley are the subject of a full planning application.

Bradford Council has proposed the route between Stockbridge with Utley which has an estimated cost of £195,000 but will attract Government funding as well as a grant from transport charity Sustrans.

Leading cycling figures have welcomed the news, adding that they hoped the route could open in time for the influx of cyclists expected on local roads ahead of the Tour de France Grand Depart next July.

A description of the scheme, included as part of the Council’s planning application, states: “The proposal is to construct a three-metre-wide fully-surfaced track for use by both pedestrians and cyclists.

“The route will follow an existing unsurfaced track that links Royd Lane and Royd Ings Avenue across land owned by Bradford Council.

“The track is approximately 270 metres long, and will be funded from a grant received from Sustrans – the UK charity enabling people to travel by foot, bike or public transport.

“This will create a link for cyclists and pedestrians from Stockbridge to Utley, without them having to use the A650 Hard Ings Road and the B6265 Skipton Road.”

Bradford Council says the route will take cyclists from Stockbridge along Royd Ings Avenue, behind Cougar Park and along an old track under the Aire Valley trunk road at Beechcliffe, away from three traffic-choked roundabouts.

The project was announced last April as one of 70 Safer Cycle Routes across the UK to be funded by the Government.

The shared cycle and pedestrian route will cross a site described as “disused brownfield”, and the planning application explains that the land will need to be levelled and cleared before construction can begin.