CENTRAL Bradford's burgeoning 'independent quarter' is to get yet another new drinking hole.

Plans to turn a Victorian listed building in North Parade into a new bar called The Beerhouse have been given the go-ahead.

Bradford Council has granted planning permission to change the ground floor of the Table Décor furnishing shop into the new craft beer pub, which will also offer traditional food.

Work on the conversion will start in January, with the venue due to open at the end of February, creating about 30 new jobs.

It is one of a number of new ventures springing up in North Parade and the surrounding area.

The Record Cafe - a charcuterie deli, real ale and craft beer cafe and vinyl record shop - opened in the street last month, and a plan for an independent micro-cinema has been lodged with Bradford Council.

Meanwhile, around the corner contractors have started transforming the historic Shaw’s Moisture Metres factory, off Westgate, into Bradford Brewery and Brewfactory.

The couple behind the Beerhouse scheme are Jas Bhatt and Kathy O’Brien, owners of The Boathouse Inn in Saltaire.

Miss O'Brien said: "We are absolutely delighted that the planning application has gone through so smoothly, as we are keen to get involved in the regeneration of Bradford city centre.

"It’s very exciting uncovering all the character of this fabulous old building and using that to create another type of venue in this vibrant area of the city.”

Licensed trade consultant Mark Hamilton-Smith, who is helping with the venture, said they couldn't wait to get started on the project.

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He said: "Bradford city centre is the place to be right now, especially at the heart of the emerging Independent Quarter scene around North Parade, where it’s really buzzing."

The pub development will help to preserve the five-storey Victorian Grade II listed building in the City Centre Conservation Area, which was historically the home of Liverpool and Victoria Insurance.

False walls and a suspended ceiling fitted in the 1980s will be removed to reveal the original Victorian architecture, such as ornate cornices, covings and columns.

A number of large old radiators which are thought to date back to the early 1900s are to be refurbished as a feature in the pub.

The project’s designer, Saltaire-based David Craig, said it had been a privilege to work on the designs for such an attractive building, and he was looking forward to seeing it get a new lease of life.

He said: "Since the arrival of The Sparrow three years ago, the area in and around North Parade has become the place to be for independents."

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