A PROMINENT development site in Bradford city centre which was formerly a Yorkshire Water depot has been sold for £2.2 million.

The 2.59 acre site, at George Street near The Broadway Shopping Centre, has been bought by Land and Securities Ltd.

The site is at the junction of Leeds Road and Shipley Airedale Road and was previously home to a depot, computer centre and water testing laboratory for Yorkshire Water.

Most recently it was occupied by the Citizens Advice Bureau, but the buildings were demolished in 2016 and the land has been operated as a car park since then.

It is not yet known what the new owner plans to do with the site, but outline planning permission was granted in 2010 for a mixed use development of hotel, offices, apartments and commercial.

The site is also highlighted in Bradford Council’s long-term area action plan for the city centre.

It is hoped that any development on the site will provide a “strong landmark feature” at the corner of Leeds Road and Shipley Airedale Road.

A development would also need to be of an appropriate scale in terms of enclosing the surrounding streets and responding to the historic character of the adjacent Little Germany Conservation Area.

Keyland Developments, the property trading arm of Kelda Group and sister company to Yorkshire Water, put the site up for sale last year.

Ryan Unsworth, development manager at Keyland, said; “We are pleased to confirm the sale of a key site in the heart of Bradford, which benefits from a host of surrounding amenities including the popular Broadway Shopping Centre and the Leisure Exchange.

“The historic planning consent has highlighted approval for commercial, offices, residential and hotel uses, all of which would fit well with the site’s location and linkages today. We are delighted that this redundant site can be brought back into use and contribute to the ongoing success of the city.”

BNP Paribas Real Estate and Mark Brearley & Co were appointed by Keyland to market the site.