Plans for a new £10 million hotel with 80 bedrooms have been approved.

Councillors have given the go-ahead for the development, which will be built on green field land next to the Millennium Business Park in Station Road, at Steeton, near Keighley.

The crescent-shaped building will include a restaurant, conference facilities and basement car parking.

The plans, submitted by Acorn Stairlifts, a firm with headquarters on the nearby business park, had previously won the backing of Steeton-with-Eastburn Parish Council.

Bradford Council planning officers supported the proposals, arguing that that they would boost Airedale’s business and tourist economy. But they attached a list of conditions with which the developer must comply.

These relate to drainage, car parking, the times of day when construction work will be allowed and landscaping.

The proposals were considered by Keighley Area Planning Panel yesterday. Planning officer John Eyles told councillors that the building would feature an innovative stone and timber-clad design.

He said the developer had agreed to contribute £50,000 towards improving the local bus service and £10,000 to upgrade the nearest bus shelter.

He said it had committed itself to providing a cycle route through the application site.

Jo Steel, agent for the applicant, said the cladding would be made of Siberian Larch, which he described as a durable material with a life expectancy of 50 years.

Meanwhile, a decision on plans to build 190 two and three-storey houses in the district has been deferred by councillors.

Members of Keighley Area Planning Panel expressed fears over what they saw as a dangerously-located drainage pond and boring building designs on the site to the west of Keighley’s North Dean Avenue. The principle had already been approved, but councillors have to consider the appearance, landscaping, layout and scale.

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