A FRESH push for new trans-Pennine motorway linking the district with east Lancashire to get Bradford’s economy firing on all cylinders.

Transport for the North (TfN) is working to develop long-term Strategic Transport Plan for the whole of the North of England, which will identify the investment priorities for the region.

The proposals would see an extension of the M65, a 26-mile stretch which runs from south of Preston, through Lancashire towns including Blackburn and Burnley and ends in Colne, in East Lancashire.

Any extension would run to Keighley, taking in the Aire Valley, but no route has been discussed, according to councillors.

The Strategic Transport Plan is being developed in conjunction with the 11 Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) and the 19 Local Transport Authorities (LTAs) that make up TfN.

A TfN spokesman said: “The corridor linking East Lancashire with North and West Yorkshire will be considered as part of this work.

“We will be using evidence from a wide range of sources to inform the Strategic Transport Plan, including the forthcoming study being jointly undertaken by Local Enterprise Partnerships in Lancashire, Leeds City Region and York, North Yorkshire and East Riding.”

This call has been supported by political figures within the Bradford district and Aire Valley.

Cllr Simon Cooke, leader of the Conservative Party in Bradford, said it will give a welcome boost to the Aire Valley’s business community.

He said: “It is a really good opportunity to have a relief road for the M62 and open up the Aire Valley to connect them better with the world. Whether it could be a dual carriageway or motorway.

“It’s about having another Transpennine crossing to take the pressure off the M62 and it would give the Aire Valley a boost.

“I don’t know where I would want the motorway to be yet.

“What the principle of the motorway has to be agreed first, before we start discussing the route.

“There is a lot of possible routes.”

The Mayor of Keighley, Cllr Shabir Ahmed, said: “If it does happen, it would be brilliant.

“At the moment Keighley is very badly affected by gridlock. We have been looking for a solution for the last 15 to 20 years.

“People in Skipton and the Dales would benefit too.”

Cllr Alex Ross-Shaw, Bradford Council’s portfolio holder for regeneration, planning and transport, said: “Completing the motorway link between East Lancashire and West Yorkshire to create a Transpennine corridor would deliver huge economic benefits to the region, particularly the Aire Valley and Keighley.

“We know there’s a big demand for this from businesses and we raised it with representatives from TfN when we met them recently and are fully supportive of the work they are doing around feasibility and potential routes.”

The proposal has also been backed by business figures in Bradford.

Mike Regnier, chief executive of Yorkshire Building Society, said: “A new motorway through Colne to to our airport, connecting Keighley as well as Bradford better to Manchester and Lancashire, could and must also be delivered.”

Nick Garthwaite, vice-chairman of Bradford Chamber of Commerce said: “If it does go ahead, I would say about time.

“There is no doubt that having such a link would stimulate activity along the Airedale corridor.

“I can’t help but say it will make a positive difference.

“But I still feel that we also need to see further connectivity for Bradford as a city through a better rail network. This would also stimulate jobs in the district.”

But any proposals are not part of WYCA’s £1 billion programme of transport improvements, which in the Bradford district include Hard Ings Road highways improvement, Keighley; Harrogate Road New Line Junction, Bradford; improvements to the Bradford Shipley Corridor and improvements to the Tong Street A650 highway.

A West Yorkshire Combined Authority (WYCA) spokesman said: “WYCA is working with LEPs in Lancashire and North Yorkshire to understand better the economic potential of improved transport links along this corridor and the work TfN is leading to look at gaps in the infrastructure between our city regions.”