A COBBLED area aimed at resembling an historic former square is to be created in the middle of the Saltaire village World Heritage Site by Bradford Council.

But residents and businesses face six weeks of traffic disruption for the works in Victoria Road starting early next month and there might be new parking restrictions put in place to prevent cars from spoiling the finished look.

After installing new Yorkstone pavements along the length of the road, contractors will replace the asphalt road surface between Victoria Hall and Shipley College, formerly Titus Salt's Factory Schools, with natural stone setts.

As well as having a new road surface, the area bounded by the four Saltaire lions – once known as Victoria Square - could have new parking limits.

Another aspect of the Setts Scheme, as it is called, will be better disabled access across this part of the road with near-level access between road and pavement.

A council spokesman said the setts would improve the appearance of the area, making it appear more like a public square again and complement the setting of the surrounding listed buildings.

A combination of new and reclaimed setts has been chosen to reflect the historic sett design elsewhere in Saltaire and also to provide good colour contrast for people with a visual impairment and smoother access for people with mobility impairments or those using buggies, he said.

The proposed parking limitations are subject to a Traffic Regulation Order which will soon be published in the media and on-site.

Work will start on the new road surface in early June and will last for about six weeks – dependent on weather and what is found under the existing tarmac.

During this period this section of Victoria Road will be closed to vehicles and diversions will be in place. Access for pedestrians will remain in place.

Bradford Council's deputy leader, Councillor Val Slater, said: "We ask businesses, residents and visitors to bear with us while the work is carried out but we are sure that any short-term disruption to traffic will be well worth it in the end.

"The UNESCO World Heritage Site Saltaire is a wonderful asset to the Bradford district and it is our responsibility to make sure that we make the best of it for now and the future.

"We are sure that the improvements to Victoria Road will be fully appreciated by everyone."

Councillor Martin Love, who leads the council's Green Party and represents Shipley, welcomed the scheme.

"Local reaction to this seems to be positive although it will take a bit of time as you can't put something like this in place without closing the road.

"No-one has raised any complaints with me and it should make the road look good and also slow traffic down," he said.