A RESCUE plan has been agreed for a grade II-listed Haworth mill described as being in danger of collapse.

But the plan comes at a cost to the nearby green belt, as new homes will have to be built on it to finance the restoration, a planning meeting heard.

The controversial scheme, by developer Skipton Properties, will see the Bridgehouse Mills complex turned into 45 retirement flats.

The firm currently using the mills, Wyedean Weaving, is to get a purpose-built factory behind the mill and an existing industrial building accommodating Airedale Springs will be extended.

A total of 77 family homes, including 38 on the green belt, will be built behind and a new park will also be created.

The scheme was approved by Bradford Council’s regulatory and appeals committee, which had to decide whether it met the ‘very special circumstances’ required for building on the green belt.

The meeting heard the collapse of a culvert beneath the building had left its distinctive arch in danger of collapse, and a fire had also struck the building in 2001.

Officers said there had been a lengthy haggling process with the developer to get the best possible deal for Haworth.

Ward councillor Rebecca Poulsen (Con, Worth Valley), speaking against the plans, said adding houses to the scheme had been “a purely financial decision”, adding: “I can see no special circumstances demonstrated.”

A spokesman for the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway, Roger France, also spoke to object, saying the development site ran nearly the length of the railway, “separated only by the Bridgehouse Beck”.

He said the railway carried more than 100,000 people a year and as the second-most visited attraction in the district, brought in £8.5m to the local economy.

John Steel, agent for Skipton Properties, said it cost a considerable amount to refurbish a listed building and in different times, public funding could have been forthcoming, “but not so today”.

He said this meant it fell to the private sector, but the scheme would not be viable without the new homes.

Committee member, Councillor Alun Griffiths (Lib Dem, Idle and Thackley), said he knew “what happens to mills when they are left empty or unused, and the devastation that provides to areas when they fall down or burn down or whatever”.

Councillor Mike Ellis (Con, Bingley Rural), said while he didn’t like to see building in the green belt, he felt they were “faced with only one option”.

He said: “The retention of the mills in my opinion is absolutely paramount. They are, as the officer said, in almost imminent danger of collapse.”

The committee voted to grant permission, with chairman, Councillor David Warburton (Lab, Wyke), saying: “I think it is good news for a listed building.”

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