A £45,000 project to tackle a town centre accident black spot has been approved by councillors.

Keighley Area Committee agreed to fund improvements at the Kirkgate and Bell Square junction, in Silsden, as part of a £90,000 road safety package for Keighley and Ilkley.

Highways engineers will draw up detailed plans to improve the junction, which could include traffic signals and a pedestrian crossing.

There will also be small-scale improvements on roads in Keighley, Oakworth, Parkwood and Cross Roads with cash from Bradford Council.

The Silsden project has been welcomed by Cllr Adrian Naylor, a Bradford and Silsden councillor, who had pushed for action following a long history of accidents.

He said: “I’m really pleased that we’ve finally got some funding allocated to deal with the problems with Bell Square.

“The issue of accidents in that area goes back a long time and solutions have repeatedly been asked for over the past decade.”

Cllr Naylor said there were problems all along Bell Square from Bridge Street to the junction with the main A6034 (Kirkgate/Bolton Road).

But he said: “I think the main problem is the junction with Bolton Road, people turning left at the Kings Arms, or turning across the traffic.

“The junction is becoming more busy. It’s a route that school buses take, and at the busiest times of day we have children going to and from the two Silsden schools.”

Cllr Naylor said that past incidents included pedestrians injured, a two-vehicle shunt, and most recently an accident that saw the Yorkshire Air Ambulance take a man to hospital.

Cllr Naylor said he would rely on council engineers to draw up a suitable scheme to solve the problems.

He hoped the work would include a crossing on the main road, to allow elderly residents in nearby sheltered housing to reach Silsden Park.

As part of this year’s casualty reduction programme Keighley Area Committee also approved £15,000 for a road safety package on the A6033 Hebden Road/Haworth Road in Cross Roads, signing and lining improvements, two vehicle-activated electronic speed signs and a possible speed limit reduction.

The committee also approved £10,000 for vehicle-activated speed signs and signing and lining improvements on Oakworth Road and Keighley Road between Keighley and Oakworth, and £10,000 for traffic measures and signing and lining improvements in the Dalton Lane and Parkwood Street area of Keighley.

A further £10,000 was granted for a traffic island/pedestrian refuge, along with signing and lining improvements and possible vehicle-activated speed signs, at the Skipton Road/Church Street junction with Bolton Bridge Road in Ilkley.