AMBITIOUS plans to create extra parking at Steeton and Silsden railway station have been revealed.

And the plans, using land owned by Airedale Tree Surgeons (ATS) next to the station, would also see major improvements to one of the main entrances to Steeton.

Architect Roger Lambert, of JLR Architects, Bradford, said the plans were at a very early stage, but were possible with support from interested parties, such as Metro and Northern Rail.

Mr Lambert, who lives in Steeton, said the aim was to rid the village of the scourge of drivers abandoning their cars in roads around the station and also to improve the approach to the village.

"As a resident, I would not like to see Steeton lose the battle against the motor car. I would like to see some sort of urban tidiness," he said.

"The journey into Steeton could be much more attractive. At the moment, half of all the traffic and nearly all visitors come off the dual carriageway and they're faced with what looks like an American hick town, with cars parked on the grass and billboards. The whole thing needs a re-think."

Mr Lambert, who has discussed the plan with Steeton-with- Eastburn Parish Council, said he was keen to see if the ATS scheme could work.

"This idea has been floated by ATS and I was keen to offer a hand to see if it could work."

But he admitted the site of the proposed car park - close to the roundabout on the Aire Valley trunk road - had a difficult access.

"The access to the ATS site is close to the roundabout, which will take some very good engineering," he said.

One idea would be to use the existing access off Station Road, while another would be to create a one-way system by entering along the upgraded existing disabled access and exiting from the ATS site access.

Mr Lambert said he thought the second one-way option would be preferable.

"By upgrading the existing disabled access route for cars, a one-way system could be created for the station. Cars would come in off a roundabout on Station Road to a drop off and pick up point, with parking for people with disabilities. They would then either carry on to the ATS site where they could park their car or leave the site."

The idea would be to charge people to use the car park, which would have between 100 to 200 spaces. It would also be manned to prevent car crime.

Mr Lambert believes the scheme would cost in the region of £500,000, which would have to be partly financed by Metro and Northern Rail.

Talks with the planning office have revealed that nothing other than car parking would be considered - ruling out the possibility of a housing element in the plan, which could have helped towards the cost of the whole project.

Mr Lambert said he believed a source of funding could be available to improve disabled facilities at the station.

"My view is that the station does not comply with the DDA (Disability Discrimination Act)," he added.

He said the next step would be to talk to Metro and Northern Rail about possible funding.

Coun David Mullen, vice chairman of Steeton-with-Eastburn Parish Council, said the plan was a step in the right direction. But he believed simply providing more car parking spaces was not the answer to Steeton's traffic problems.

"We would like to see Metro carry out an audit to see where the cars come from," he added. "We understand that up to four people turn up in individual cars, they all park up in the car park and drive off in one car. They're using it as a free car park."

He believed charging at the car park would reduce the number of people using it.