Demolition plea by owners of derelict Idle, Bradford, nursing home after third major blaze (From Bradford Telegraph and Argus)

Demolition plea by owners of derelict Idle, Bradford, nursing home after third major blaze

7:00am Tuesday 19th March 2013 in News

A derelict nursing home once again targeted by arsonists may soon be demolished if the owners get their dearest wish, it was revealed yesterday.

Care home The Knoll, in Idle, has been a target for thieves, vandals and drug addicts since it closed in 2008.

And on Saturday morning fire crews from Idle, Bradford and Shipley tackled the third major blaze at the 100-year-old building.

Jeremy Davies, managing director of ADL, which owns the Knoll and a number of nursing homes across the district, said he is determined to level the site and sell it as quickly as possible.

“I’m sick and tired of this site and want to get on.

“All we want to do is run care homes,” Mr Davies said.

“We’re not going to to develop it, we just want to sell it and on Friday we put in an application to demolish the building.”

Mr Davies said that his business was the “victim” in that Bradford Council had forced the closure of The Knoll, thus making it a magnet for trouble.

“It’s the bane of my life and we’ve been treated abysmally.

“After the site is sold we will be seeking legal advice on what to do next, as the building only became damaged because the council forced its closure,” Mr Davies said.

But Councillor Jeanette Sunderland (Lib Dem, Idle and Thackley) said ADL had failed to keep The Knoll secure and therefore fire crews were being put in danger.

“We are asking firefighters to risk their lives. They have to go and check the place is empty, and I fear one of them will be killed one of these days.

“Another aspect is that it is a terrible waste of money to keep sending fire crews and police up there,” Coun Sunderland said.

Reacting to ADL’s new plan to flatten the Knoll, she added: “It’s about time too – it has cost thousands and thousands in taxpayers’ money because of the company’s failure to look after it properly,” she said.