Plans for changes at the notoriously busy Saltaire roundabout have been amended after public consultation.

Proposals were revealed in March for a £4.3 million scheme to replace the roundabout with traffic lights.

The original plans have now been changed to reintroduce the right turn from Bingley Road into Moorhead Lane, after its removal received fierce opposition from residents.

A report to the Shipley Area Committee, which meets on Wednesday, states rat-running and increased traffic in residential streets were identified as major concerns.

Richard Gelder, transportation development manager for Bradford Council, said: “The consultation shows a breadth of feeling beyond what we had imagined. So, given the strength of public feeling about that issue, we thought it was quite a key thing we had to address.”

Mr Gelder said removing the right turn could have resulted in cars making alternative routes through local neighbourhood streets.

Councillor Kevin Warnes (Green, Shipley), part of a steering group working on the proposals, said the original plan would not have worked due to its effect on nearby residents.

He said: “I’m hoping the area committee will give this proposal its backing because it is the only viable proposal I have seen in six years as a councillor and 20 hours in that working group.

“This one seems to me to strike the right balance between the need to keep the junction moving but also providing enough improvements to the whole area that will deliver real benefits to the local residents, such as the 20mph zone in Saltaire and the improved pedestrian access.”

Dave Belmont, of Glen View Close, Nab Wood, had previously said it would be “almost impossible” to get out of Nab Wood if traffic engineers pressed ahead with the plans revealed in March.

He said: “We needed to have the right-hand turn reinstated and we are very pleased this is now being proposed, though whatever is done is only going to be of minor benefit compared to something more radical, such as a bypass.”

Mr Belmont said traffic calming measures in the surrounding areas were another important aspect of the development. The report to the area committee stated the Council received 294 written responses about the proposal with 67 per cent rating it as “good” or “fair”.

The area committee will be asked to note the work done on developing the proposal for remodelling the roundabout and feedback to the consultation exercise as well as considering the draft proposal before it is presented to the Council’s Executive.