The boss of a Silsden textile company has denied the firm is to quit the town over a row about access to its property.

Weavestyle chief executive Joel Rosenblatt's comments come after a new road layout was introduced to help vehicles gain access to the firm's premises off Keighley Road.

For the last eight years vehicles have entered Weavestyle through the company's own gate. They have had to leave by crossing land belonging to another company nearby - Belmont Silks.

Weavestyle has tried to buy the land, but failed.

Belmont Silks has now locked the gates to its land so Weavestyle vehicles have to use the firm's own gateway into Keighley road as both an entrance and an exit. This means a blind right-hand exit and has been deemed unsafe.

So Weavestyle sought the help of Bradford council. A line of traffic cones has been placed on Keighley Road and the road has been narrowed to help vehicles entering and leaving the premises.

Mr Rosenblatt told the Keighley News: "The council has been a big help and they are looking at a solution to the access problem.

"We are still waiting for them to come back to us with a quote on how to make the access safer."

He says Weavestyle tried to swap a piece of its own land for the Belmont Silks land, but Silks said no. He says Weavestyle then tried to buy the land but that fell through. It is believed Silks was asking around £50,000 for the land.

Mr Rosenblatt says the company, which employs around 125 people mainly from the Silsden and Steeton areas, is hopeful of a solution. "The safety of our employees and suppliers is paramount," he says. "But we have no plans to leave Silsden."

A Bradford council planning spokesman says: "We are looking at ways in which we can help the company overcome their difficulties."

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