Plans for a £120 million ‘clean energy’ complex in Keighley – which will bring nearly 600 jobs to the town – have now been submitted to Bradford Council.

Three plants for recycling waste would be constructed on the derelict former gas works site in Airedale Road, alongside the Aire Valley trunk road at Marley.

The pioneering scheme would also include an education and visitor centre, plus a four-storey office building, parking and landscaping.

And a data storage centre and offices would be built on land in nearby Dalton Lane.

Already-processed commercial and industrial waste will be brought to the plants, which together will be capable of producing 80,000,000 kWh of electricity a year – virtually enough to power the whole town.

Behind the pioneering scheme is the Halton Group, which owns the sites.

Agent John Steel, of JO Steel Consulting, said the proposals put before the council are unchanged from those displayed at a public consultation event in Keighley Civic Centre last month.

“The overwhelming response from people who attended the event was favourable, and there have been no alterations to the plans,” he added.

The proposed scheme will go before the regulatory and appeals committee, probably in February.

If the project gets the green light, work could start next autumn and the complex be operational by the end of 2016.

About 300 jobs would be created during the construction phase and once operational, at least 80 people would be employed in the plants and 170 in the offices.

Nick Pearce, from architects Halliday Clark, said the facility would operate within tightly-defined air quality requirements set by the Environment Agency.

And he added the processed waste being brought to the complex would comprise plastics, building materials and tyre ‘crumbs’.

The electricity produced would go into the national grid.

The venture has been widely welcomed by community leaders.

Lord Mayor of Bradford, Khadim Hussain, a Keighley Central councillor, said the scheme would regenerate a currently derelict site, provide a huge jobs boost and bring clean energy.

MP Kris Hopkins said the plans represented a “magnificent opportunity” for Keighley, and would hopefully prove to be a catalyst for more investment from other sources.