Development Framework for Keighley

The role of the Development Framework is to act as a guide for development within Keighley, as well as encourage and attract new investment into the area. It provides clear principles which promote social, economic and environmental benefits which are informed by Keighley's local context and are underpinned by the strategic and policy context both nationally and locally.  

The proposed interventions as set out within the Draft Development Framework are indicative only. There is no funding commitment at this stage to deliver the vision. If the proposals are supported by stakeholders, a more detailed delivery plan would be considered as funding opportunities arise.

Vision: ‘You can make it in Keighley’

Keighley will continue to pride itself as a making town – celebrating the success of manufacturing and textiles and inspiring the people of Keighley to make, create and innovate.  Innovation will be encouraged within key high-growth sectors including advanced manufacturing, engineering and technology, bringing together industry and research, attracting new businesses within the town and supporting the expansion of existing businesses. 

The town centre will be regenerated to provide a mix of uses, combining a new health and leisure offer, and encouraging new food & beverage outlets as part of a Market/ Food Hall within a re-purposed Airedale Shopping Centre.  

Through this, Keighley will be repositioned as a destination hub, promoting and showcasing Keighley’s heritage assets, Keighley’s culture of film-making and the opportunity to create a heritage trail alongside new public squares and spaces to enhance Keighley’s attractiveness.  

Keighley’s draft vision is underpinned by a series of strategic objectives:

• Cultural-led regeneration – promoting the town’s existing heritage and cultural assets (both within the town centre and beyond) as a key part of Keighley’s future vision.
• A diversified town centre – Broadening the current mix of uses to address the contracting retail offer within the town centre – encouraging greater food & beverage, leisure, health and residential uses to create vibrancy and activity during the day time and evening, and creating a destination hub. 
• Promoting innovation and skills– Enhancing skills, expertise and innovation through harnessing Keighley’s existing network of manufacturing businesses – promoting new research, innovation, and growing the existing skills-base to support new employment opportunities.
• A well connected place – addressing the barriers to connectivity for walking and cycling across Keighley, and promoting greater use of public transport.
• A safe and inclusive town – Creating a safe and inclusive town centre, including the creation of overlooked and active public spaces to encourage activity, socialisation for all, providing new places for the community and visitors to enjoy.
• A green and healthy environment –Low carbon to be embedded into new development, to align with Bradford’s Clean Growth agenda, promoting sustainable travel solutions and improving access to Keighley’s countryside, rivers and Becks.  
• Community at its heart – Social value to be at the heart of regeneration – ensuring that future growth is inclusive,  creating positive outcomes for all, and fostering Keighley’s strong community spirit.

The proposed interventions as set out are indicative only. There is no funding commitment at this stage to deliver the vision. If the proposals are supported by stakeholders, a more detailed delivery plan would be considered as funding opportunities arise.

The Draft Development Framework for Keighley proposes seven Character Areas. These areas have been identified recognising the existing qualities and character within each area as well as the character and type of uses that could be provided as part of the future vision for Keighley.

1. Town centre and civic quarter
2. River Worth linear park
3. Victoria Park residential zone
4. Learning and maker / creator zone
5. Worth Valley manufacturing zone
6. Airedale business park
7. Marley Park

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The Mixed-Use Town Centre and Civic Quarter character area provides a significant opportunity for change. The ambition is to provide a more diversified town centre offer to broaden the current mix of uses and address the contracting retail offer.  This will help to drive footfall within Keighley town centre. The interventions include introducing new health and leisure uses, improving the existing Food & Beverage and night time economy offer and increasing the amount of housing, to create a thriving town centre which meets residents’ day-to-day needs. 

Potential interventions could include the following: 

• Airedale Shopping Centre – Reconfiguration of the shopping centre and car park to reintroduce historic street patterns to improve walking and cycling connectivity within the retail core and broaden the offer to provide healthcare, leisure, food & beverage and housing within the town centre. 
• Bus Station and new square– The bus station would be relocated to the site of the current Airedale Shopping Centre multi-storey car park, which is currently underutilised and in a poor state of repair. This car park would therefore need to be demolished to enable this relocation. This would provide an opportunity to create a new town square at the heart of the town centre, on the site of the current Bus Station. This will create the opportunity to host key events, helping to benefit wider businesses and generate footfall.
• Market Hall – Relocation of the market hall to within the reconfigured Airedale Centre to diversify the shopping centre offer and bring forward new housing on the site of the Market Hall. 
• Keighley Railway Station – Improved walking and cycling connections between the retail core and the train station and improving the public realm at the station forecourt to create a more welcoming arrival to the town.
• Alkincote Street – relocation of poorer quality employment uses along Alkincote Street into Business Development zones, to provide a more mixed-use / residential offer within the town centre.

The proposed interventions as set out are indicative only. There is no funding commitment at this stage to deliver the vision. If the proposals are supported by stakeholders, a more detailed delivery plan would be considered as funding opportunities arise.

The aim is to create an attractive, mixed-use riverside community, improving access to the River Worth and create a more attractive environment for pedestrians and cyclists. 

Key interventions include:

• Activation of the River Worth – Reorientating the town to front the River Worth and activate the riverside with the creation of the River Worth Linear Park.
• Residential uses – Relocation of existing industrial uses to provide new riverside housing sites.
• Reconfiguration of Low Mills – to provide a high-quality mixed-use development which makes the most of the heritage asset.

The proposed interventions as set out are indicative only. There is no funding commitment at this stage to deliver the vision. If the proposals are supported by stakeholders, a more detailed delivery plan would be considered as funding opportunities arise.

Consolidation of the commercial and businesses uses within the character area will create a more residential focused character to the north of the town centre, whilst improving connectivity between the town centre and the key leisure facilities to the north of Keighley.  

Potential interventions therefore could include the following: 

• Expanded commercial offer  – completion of proposed redevelopment at Aire Valley Business Centre and repurposing under-used sites to provide commercial and business uses. 
• Town centre residential offer – relocation of low quality commercial uses along Parson Street to provide new housing.
• Improved leisure connectivity – improve the connection from the town centre to Victoria Park / Leisure Centre to the northeast and Devonshire Park / Cliffe Castle to the northwest.

The proposed interventions as set out are indicative only. There is no funding commitment at this stage to deliver the vision. If the proposals are supported by stakeholders, a more detailed delivery plan would be considered as funding opportunities arise.

Improvements of the Worth Village business development zone to provide a cutting-edge commercial and educational zone in a highly sustainable location.  Re-profiling of dated and poor quality industrial and commercial buildings to provide a modern and fit for purpose business zone, building upon Keighley’s status as a hub for manufacturing.

Potential interventions could include the following: 

• New high quality business development – redevelopment of Victorian mills and low quality industrial uses on Dalton lane, linking to Keighley College.
• Reprofiling low quality industrial uses – to provide modern, high quality B2 and B8 units which are fit for purpose.
• Improving public realm – creating an attractive environment for pedestrians and cyclists to improve connections to the train station and town centre.

The proposed interventions as set out are indicative only. There is no funding commitment at this stage to deliver the vision. If the proposals are supported by stakeholders, a more detailed delivery plan would be considered as funding opportunities arise.  

Relocation of poor quality and underused commercial uses in this area, to the Business Development Areas within Keighley.  This will create an opportunity for a new sustainable and high-quality residential area to the south of the town centre. 

Potential interventions could include the following: 

• Consolidation of Commercial Uses – existing low quality and underused commercial uses to be consolidated and relocated, where appropriate, to the Business Development Zones within Keighley.  In the short to medium term there is the opportunity to retain some manufacturing/ industrial space in this area. 
• New Sustainable Residential Development – creation of new high-quality, sustainable housing to the south of the town centre, making the most of the Riverside location.
• Improving the Built Environment to create an attractive environment for residential living, and to encourage walking and cycling.
• Improving Access to the River Worth – continuation of riverside links from proposed River Worth Linear Park to the north.

The proposed interventions as set out are indicative only. There is no funding commitment at this stage to deliver the vision. If the proposals are supported by stakeholders, a more detailed delivery plan would be considered as funding opportunities arise.

Airedale Business Park will provide an established home for green manufacturing and precision engineering, and focusing on promoting the area as a high-quality employment and innovation zone within Keighley.  Existing businesses will be supported to grow and expand within the Business Park and new start-ups encouraged.

Potential interventions therefore could include the following: 

• Development of Beechcliffe Business/Industrial Park – supportive of the Towns Funding project to remediate land to the west of the A629 and secure infrastructure access, thus enabling the site to accommodate circa 150,000sqft new employment floorspace. 
• Redevelopment of vacant Brownfield land within the existing Business Development Zone (BDZ)– encouraging high-quality employment uses on existing vacant sites within the BDZ including land to the east of Keighley Ambulance Station.
• Redevelopment of the Council’s depot site – in the longer-term, the Council’s depot and waste management site could come forward for redevelopment, subject to finding an alternative site for this community asset within the wider Keighley area.  High-quality employment uses would be encouraged to come forward on this site.
• Enhancing the green infrastructure, public realm and links to the River Aire – New development coming forward should be encouraged to provide high-quality amenity, greenspace and encourage better access to the river for all to benefit from.
• Potential incubator and collaboration space – potential to create a focused incubator space, with support from Keighley College and Bradford University, this would help local businesses collaborate and access support, promote knowledge sharing and help to upskill the local community aligned with the needs of local industries, and provide additional amenity (e.g. Food & Beverage outlet) for employees.

The proposed interventions as set out are indicative only. There is no funding commitment at this stage to deliver the vision. If the proposals are supported by stakeholders, a more detailed delivery plan would be considered as funding opportunities arise.

The focus of this character area should still be for open space and leisure purposes, but to better connect and serve the surrounding areas of Keighley, which suffer from a lack of green spaces, particularly within the town centre core. Longer-term, a consolidation of existing commercial uses which are out of keeping with the character of the area will be encouraged, and over-time replaced with more appropriate residential development.  

Potential interventions could include the following: 

• Improving Access to Green Spaces - building on the proposed River Worth Linear Park to improve access for residents to blue (river/ canal) and green infrastructure (parks/open countryside) in Keighley.
• Creation of Marley Country Park – broaden the current open space provision and amenity offering to create an enhanced Marley Country Park, working alongside the National Trust and Yorkshire Water.  This would also include investment in Marley ACC, providing a new all-weather pitch, changing facilities and amenities on site.  
• Relocation of commercial uses – relocation of incompatible commercial uses on Harclo Street and Marland Road.
• Provision of new residential uses – provision of high-quality housing infill development, in keeping with the character of the area, on the site of former commercial units.

The proposed interventions as set out are indicative only. There is no funding commitment at this stage to deliver the vision. If the proposals are supported by stakeholders, a more detailed delivery plan would be considered as funding opportunities arise.  

The full Draft Development Framework is available to download if you wish to review it in more detail.

For those large organisations and statutory consultees that may wish to write to us with feedback, please email growth@bradford.gov.uk