Airedale NHS Foundation Trust has given its renewed commitment to the scheme.
The planned health and wellbeing centre attracted around £3.4 million from the Government-financed Keighley Towns Fund.
But due to changes in market conditions, notably rising costs, it has become necessary to explore further potential funding routes.
The centre would bring a range of GP, healthcare, community and dental care, and mental health services together under one roof.
They would move into premises to be built on the council-owned former Keighley College site in North Street – currently a green space.
Foluke Ajayi, chief executive of Airedale NHS Foundation Trust, says: “We remain committed to supporting the development of a health and wellbeing centre in Keighley town centre.
“We are exploring opportunities for increasing the services we could potentially provide there, both as part of our planning for our new hospital and in support of the move to delivering more healthcare in community settings as set out in the NHS 10 Year Plan.”
Bradford Council says it is supporting the trust in efforts to find a solution to the funding issue, and that the possibility of using levelling-up cash is being explored.
Keighley East councillor Caroline Firth raised the matter at the last full council meeting, and sought an update.
In response, the council said: “Finding an affordable funding solution for the Keighley community health and wellbeing centre has been the main issue over the past 18 months due to construction cost inflation and high commercial borrowing rates, and we have been supporting the local NHS trust as lead partner on the project to find a solution.
“We are now refreshing the original Towns Fund business case to gain approval from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to use levelling-up funding to support the Keighley scheme so that we can meet the March 2028 deadline for defrayment of grant funding. This means that the scheme would be funded from a combination of grant and external capital funding and be affordable for health and care partners.
“In refreshing the business case we are working closely with Airedale NHS Foundation Trust. We are exploring opportunities for increasing the services that Airedale could potentially provide from the Keighley development as part of its planning for the new hospital. This would support the direction of travel expected to be set out in the NHS 10 Year Plan and also that of the New Hospital Programme, which Airedale is part of.”
Councillor Firth says: “Labour councillors in Keighley have been supporting and pushing for progress around this issue for years, because its success is vital for people living here and for future generations.
“We need and want people in Keighley to live healthier for longer, and having modern, co-located facilities would start to plug that gap. I welcome that the council continues to take this seriously.”