A £45,000 project to tackle an accident blackspot in Silsden town centre has been approved by councillors.

Keighley Area Committee agreed to fund improvements at the Kirkgate and Bell Square junction 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.

And there will also be small-scale improvements on an Ilkley road.

The Silsden project was this week welcomed by ward councillor Cllr Naylor, who had pushed for action following a long history of accidents.

He said: “I’m really pleased 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 during 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 added: “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 school buses take, and at the busiest times of day we have children going to and from the two Silsden schools.”

Cllr Naylor said 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.

As part of this year’s casualty reduction programme, Keighley Area Committee also approved a further £10,000 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.