FORMER public toilets at a Bronte country beauty spot and a park keeper’s lodge in Wibsey are the latest buildings to be sold off by Bradford Council.

Wibsey Park Lodge and a toilet block on Penistone Hill, just outside of Haworth, will go under the hammer next month as the authority looks to shed the number of properties it owns.

The properties are lots in the next auction by Pugh properties, which will be held at Leeds United Football Club’s grounds on September 4.

In recent years Bradford Council has sold a number of its buildings that it deems “surplus to requirements” as it looks to tighten its purse strings.

The toilet block at Penistone Hill, off Moorside Lane, will have a guide price of £10,000 when it goes to auction.

The auctioneers have not yet set a guide price for Wibsey Park Lodge, but earlier this year the Council sought an independent valuation of the building - which suggested a guide price of £95,000.

The stone toilet block, which was only opened regularly during the summer, was closed by Bradford Council due to budget cuts in 2015.

Efforts to find another organisation to take the toilets over proved unsuccessful, with Haworth, Cross Roads and Stanbury Parish Council also lacking the funds to take the facilities over.

The toilet block is located in one of the most picturesque areas of the district, although it has been targeted by vandals in the past.

Councillor Rebecca Poulson (Cons, Worth Valley) believes there will be local interest in the toilet building. She said: “They have been empty for a long time and the local councillors have been calling for them to be sold to someone who wants to do something with them.

“I know of at least two local people who are interested in the site. It would be ideal for a cafe or ice cream shop. A use like that would be really positive for the area, as there is not a lot else you could do with this building.

“There is no use just having an empty building in such a nice area.”

Earlier this year Bradford Council’s Regulatory and Appeals Committee, sitting as trustees of Wibsey Park, agreed to sell the now vacant park keeper’s lodge and use the income to invest in other areas of the park.

The auction guide describes the lodge as a three-bedroom property on a 717 square metre plot of land.

Another Council owned property will be going up for auction at the event is 66 Garden Field in Wyke, a derelict house that has a guide price of £25,000.

A Council Spokesperson said: “The toilets at Penistone Hill were closed in March 2015. They are now being sold, the proceeds will contribute towards the provision of Council services and will hopefully bring a redundant building back into use.

“The sale of the former Gardeners Lodge at Wibsey Park was agreed by the corporate trustees as the building was surplus to operational requirements. The proceeds will be reinvested back into the Charity (Wibsey Park), to help deliver its objectives. The Council will be working with the Friends of Wibsey Park and local ward councillors on plans to reinvest the money in the Park.”