Repair work to start on historic Keighley cobbled street

Work to re-lay traditional cobble stones on a street in Keighley will begin later.

Thwaites Brow Road - known locally as The Twines - will be repaired as part of a £190,000 project funded by the Keighley Towns Fund.

Repairs have previously been carried out with patches of tarmac, but this time contractors will re-lay salvaged "setts" or supply and lay new ones.

The work is expected to take several months to complete.

'Local history'

Bradford Council said some of the current stones are in a poor condition and the repairs were "very welcome".

The setts have been damaged over the years, partly due to poor drainage

Liz Barker, acting chair of the Keighley Towns Fund said: "The Twines is part of our local history and we are delighted to be able to repair and improve it.

"There is a relatively long timeframe because of the need for a specialist contractor to work on the setts, and the need to source replacement setts."

Caroline Firth, Labour councillor for Keighley East, said the road dated back to 1851 and is famously used as a challenge for cyclists due to its long, steep incline.

She said the setts had suffered over the years as the road has poor drainage, meaning water runs beneath the stones and they become loose.

"The Towns Fund bid was confirmed in 2021 so people have been very patient in waiting for this and it's wonderful that it's going to happen now," she said.

"Our initial vision - along with the community group Friends of the Twines, which keeps it free of litter and reports any issues to councillors - was we were hoping that the Tour de Yorkshire might come up one day.

"Now that's defunct, but something like that in the future would be really exciting."

The council said residents will have access to the road throughout the works.