Eight flats are to be knocked down close to a notorious haven for rowdy teenagers.

Surrounding apartments on rundown Whinfield Close, Braithwaite, Keighley, could be transformed into family homes.

Aire-Wharfe Community Housing Trust, which owns the flats, last month applied for planning permission for the demolition.

The project has been welcomed by town councillor and community activist John Philip.

He said that in the past some of the flats had been home to youngsters responsible for anti-social behaviour.

Since pensioners moved out of the flats several years ago they had been used mostly for single young people.

He said: "There's always been a problem. There was fairly bad anti-social behaviour and the houses got smashed."

Coun Philip, an official with Braithwaite People's Association, praised the idea of turning neighbouring flats into family homes.

His colleague, Alex Brown, chairman of the association said: "This is great news for families wanting homes in this area - so many of the houses have been bought by tenants.

"Part of the area is a cul-de-sac, a favourite place for people to dump stolen cars and escape the police.

"And it has attracted vandalism and thieves who break into the buildings that are empty and steal gas boilers."

The eight one-bedroom flats are in two blocks at numbers 42 to 56.

Residents of all but one of the flats have already moved out, and the remaining tenant has been offered alternative accommodation. The Trust, part of Bradford Community Housing Trust Group, manages Bradford Council's former housing stock in Keighley.

A Trust spokesman said the flats were being demolished after a full assessment of the stock and lack of demand for that type of property.

He said: "These have been hard-to-let properties and involved a high turnover of tenancies.

"Their demolition will enable the housing trust to consider providing more popular accommodation units on the site.

"Our initial intention is to landscape the land. At this time there are no firm plans for the future development."

The spokesman said residents and tenants had been fully consulted on the demolition plans.

A feasibility study was being carried out into the future of all trust properties in Whinfield Close.

The spokesman said turning the remaining flats into family homes was just one of the possible options.

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