MORE than 50 plots of land around the Greengates crossroads could be bought up after a compulsory purchase order was submitted by Bradford Council ahead of planned major road improvement works.

The CPO for 58 plots of land would give the Council the ability to purchase land around the junction of Harrogate Road and New Line to allow the planned roadworks and pavement improvements to go ahead.

If approved by the Secretary of State for Transport, the works will see areas of pavement, car parking, and gardens bought by the Council for the work.

The £6.8 million scheme is expected to be finished in February 2020 and includes widening the road to create four lanes of traffic, proper pedestrian crossings, improved cycle lanes, and a ‘P loop junction’ designed to reduce congestion.

Improvements to the junction have been in the pipeline since August 2016, and getting the CPO approved will be one of the final pieces of the jigsaw in getting building work underway.

The Greengates war memorial has already been affected by the plans, after the Cenotaph Commission gave the Council permission to knock down its walls and reduce the size of the memorial garden to allow for the pavement to be widened around the junction.

Peter Cannon, chairman of Friends of Greengates Cenotaph, said there are still concerns in the area about how the junction will work.

He said: “On the P loop, if three lorries get stuck the whole road will be blocked.

“We still can’t get to the bottom of why they are doing this, and I cannot see how this is going to work.

“With the CPO, one of my friends is going to lose part of his garden.”

While he did not agree with the planned changes, Mr Cannon, 79, accepted something needs to be done at the junction, saying the traffic in Greengates is “horrendous”.

If the order is approved, pavements will be altered around the junction to allow for the road to be widened to a dual carriageway.

This includes some of the pavement area and car parking access at Aldo’s Italian in Harrogate Road, just past the junction.

Aldo Devittoris, who runs the restaurant, said he has spoken with the Council about the planned changes, but at the moment it is too early to say how the CPO may affect his business.

Other businesses may be affected by the loss of car parking space, and some residents also face the loss of part of their gardens.

The full compulsory purchase order is on display at City Hall, Eccleshill Library and Idle Library, and any objections to the CPO must be made in writing to the Secretary of State for Transport, National Transport Casework Team, Department of Transport, Tyneside House, Skinnerburn Road, Newcastle Business Park, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE4 7AR, before Friday, February 23.