NEW flats and bungalows are planned on the site of a now-demolished middle school.

But education chiefs have said nearby schools are “overcrowded or full” and may have to be expanded to accommodate the extra children the development could attract.

A detailed planning application has been lodged for 20 new homes on the site of the former Delph Hill Middle School in Common Road, Low Moor, Bradford.

The Guiseley-based applicant, named only as Mr A Brook, has applied for permission to build a block of 14 one-bedroom flats and six two-bedroom bungalows, with a total of 24 parking spaces on-site.

The development would encompass a 0.59-hectare section of the site left vacant when the school closed in 2000.

The bungalows would face onto Common Road, with the flats placed toward the rear, southern part of the site.

The bungalows would be constructed with artificial stone and the flats would be built using a mixture of artificial stone and render.

In a statement lodged alongside the application, planning agent Roger Lee says the plans should be supported because the site has been allocated for housing and is “previously developed land”.

He says the principle of development has already been established, thanks to an existing housing plan approved for elsewhere on the site.

In 2005, planners approved a plan for 59 new homes on a larger area of the school site and the plans were later tweaked.

This development has begun, Mr Lee’s statement says.

But a response, already lodged by Bradford Council’s education department, raises concerns about the impact on nearby schools.

This says: “Based on the data available in July 2017, the above housing development is likely to cause concerns on where children of families coming to reside in the development might attend school.”

It says nearby primary and secondary schools are “overcrowded or full” and Bradford Council may have to increase the number of school places in this area.

But it also points out that because the development is in Bradford, the developer will not have to contribute anything towards education under Bradford’s new Community Infrastructure Levy system.

This is because payments in both central Bradford and Keighley are set at a rate of zero to ensure redevelopment of urban areas doesn’t become unviable.

Public comments on the plan are now being invited and a decision is due by November 1.