NEW life could be breathed into an inner city park after plans to open a new community facility there were approved.

Last year a group made up of members of the Friends of Bowling Park, BD4 Community Trust, e:merge and the Olive Branch Trust revealed plans to convert a lodge at Bowling Park, currently used as council offices, into a community cafe and classroom facility.

Now the group has been granted planning permission to convert the Grade II listed building, and is in the final stages of securing grants to fund the bulk of the £400,000 they need for the project.

Bradford Council will support the plan by taking part in a Community Asset Transfer, giving the building to the group and moving its current staff there to other council offices.

The group hope the facility will open late this year or early 2018.

As well as the full refurbishment of the building to create the cafe, the group will build a classroom to the rear of the building, which will act as a hub for visits to the park by schools, scouts and other community groups.

Approving the application, officers said the plans would “support the use of the park, and add to people’s enjoyment and education. It will encourage more visits to the park. The community use is important to ensure the viable use of the park long term.”

The community interest company created to run the centre has been named ASH Yorkshire. Board member Richard Gower said the group had conditional offers of support from two major funders. He said the facility could be “transformational” for the park, and the group hoped it would eventually become as popular as Lister Park in Manningham, which has previously been named Britain’s Best Park.

He said: “This is not going to turn it into Lister Park overnight, but we hope it will help make the park become a major attraction.

“There are already the Friends of Bowling Park working to improve it, and this will be a great base for a lot of their efforts.

“We already have three groups lined up who want to use the classroom facility.”

Dave Brickman, chairman of the Friends of Bowling Park, said: “There is still a long way to go, but when it is done it will breathe new life into the park. When it is open we hope it helps make the park a go-to destination for the local community.”