A SCHEME to turn part of an industrial building in Lidget Green, Bradford, into an auction house, has been approved by planners.

New firm Ernest Haynes Ltd applied to Bradford Council to change the use of the industrial unit and warehousing at Beckside Road in order to hold a weekly auction there, selling mainly furniture and electrical goods.

The site, which was previously home to the Tradex bazaar, and prior to that Shires Bathrooms, is made up of a building of 25,000 square metres. This application relates to a unit of 2,900 sq m at the back of the building.

In a report, Council planning officer Richard Cryer states that the auction house plan would generate a similar or higher level of jobs when compared to the warehousing use, and that the unit did not appear to be in use at the moment.

"It is considered in this case that it will bring back into use this part of the building and is considered a more suitable location for the proposed auction rooms where there is a sufficient level of off-street parking to serve the potential traffic generation of auction days."

He did add however that a retail impact assessment was not required as the auction rooms were not classified as a retail use.

Due to the potential for a large volume of traffic on auction days, improvements are to be made to the site entrance.

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It is anticipated that the scheme will require five full-time and two part-time employees. There is also car parking available for 98 vehicles.

A design and access statement accompanying the planning application states: "The proposal is a start up business. It is a new business to be managed by individuals with previous working experience in auction rooms.

"The goods to be auctioned will comprise primarily of furniture and electrical goods.

"The auction room will be used to facilitate a weekly auction to be held between the hours of 10am and 4pm. Public viewing of goods to be auctioned will take place on the proceeding day.

"For the remainder of the week goods will be received and taken away."

There were no objections to the scheme, and Councillor Nazam Azam (Lab, City), said he welcomed the new business to the area. "It's a very large site and I would like to see full use of the building, so this auction rooms plan is welcomed."

The site used to be home to the Tradex Bazaar, which was run without planning permission and led to a court case and significant fines for the two businessmen involved.

A second bid to turn another part of the site into indoor football pitches was withdrawn last month, after being thrown out last year following an appeal. A planning inspector upheld Bradford Area Planning Panel's earlier decision to reject the scheme over concerns at the loss of an employment site.