A MAKESHIFT shack has been torn down after squatters were evicted from a plot of land earmarked for a new community garden.

Demolition equipment was brought in to tear down the ramshackle structure, which two people had been living in on the Bradford Council-owned site for more than six months.

The land, between Great Horton Road and the Grange Interlink centre, had been covered with fly-tipped waste, littered with needles and had attracted rats.

Police described the site, just yards from playing fields, a public park and several houses, as a “health hazard”.

The land is the subject of a planning application from the Shearbridge Residents Association, which hopes to turn the long-neglected site into a community garden and multi-use games area.

Bradford Council told the Telegraph & Argus that they had repeatedly tried to move the squatters on from the site, and had offered them alternative accommodation, which they refused on several occasions.

After exhausting other options, the council moved onto the site on Friday, with support from police, to remove the squatters and tear down their shack.

Shearbridge Residents’ Association is a voluntary group that serves the surrounding area, and earlier this year submitted a planning application that would see the site turned into a community facility, complete with sports pitch and fenced community garden, which will be maintained by the group.

The group’s application described the 4,400 square metre site as having “become a much-abused and overgrown area of land over the years”.

It added: “The site was overgrown with brambles, despoiled by fly-tippling, and used as a refuge by some of the city’s homeless.”

The plans had been formed after numerous surveys and consultations in the local community to determine possible uses for the site, and a decision on the site is due to be made in the coming weeks.

So far dozens of people have written to the council in support of the plans.

Work to remove some of the overgrown vegetation began earlier this year.

After Friday’s operation to clear the site, a police spokesperson said: “The area had become a health hazard with discarded needles.

“This action has been long anticipated and having spoken to the Shearbridge Residents Association, they are pleased with the action.”

A Bradford Council spokesperson said: “In November the council found two rough sleepers living in a makeshift hut on council land. The outreach workers were concerned about poor conditions in the hut and offered the occupants shelter in a hostel.

“This was refused. A period of intense engagement took place and the occupants were offered alternative safe and warm accommodation but this was repeatedly refused.

“The council successfully applied to the Bradford County Court for an order for the repossession of the land which was enforced on April 20.

“The occupants were again informed of the accommodation options before they were asked to vacate the property.

“The site is currently being cleared of rubbish and waste which should be completed by the end of this week.”

Najeeb Khan, from the residents’ association, said: “We have been pushing the council and they have been working with us to help get the site cleared.

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“We’ve invested quite a lot of funding into this site and there is a huge community support.

“By taking on the site and transforming it we really think it will help with any anti-social behaviour issues. Changing the site will deal with a lot of issues and help people live healthier lives.

“I’ve lived here for over 30 years, and this site has been ignored in all that time. It had become a dumping ground and turned into an area for anti-social behaviour.

“Because the council have limited funding it makes sense for groups like ours to be given a chance with sites like this.

“We think the plans for this site could be a real turning point for this area, and give a safe area for the community to enjoy.”