A FAST-food pizza chain has announced it will be opening in the centre of Bingley, creating up to 25 jobs.

Domino's Pizza will be moving into 95 Main Street, a prominent building on the corner of Park Road near Bingley Station.

The building was most recently occupied by Bridgefords estate agents, but has been empty since that branch closed earlier this year.

Plans to convert the building, which is in the town’s conservation area, into a takeaway were approved by Bradford Council in June, despite objections from Bingley Town Council and a number of Bingley residents.

At the time the operator had not been announced, although the pizza giant has now revealed the business that will be converting the building.

Some of the objections to the plans included complaints that there would be too many takeaways in that area of Bingley, and that it could lead to Main Street becoming a “ghost town” during the day.

However, planning officers said there were no other takeaways on that stretch of Main Street, and the plans were for Domino's to open during the day, not just evenings.

They also pointed out that the new takeaway would not lead to a loss of retail space, as the building was previously an estate agent rather than a shop. They said the takeaway would likely attract more customers than an estate agent’s.

A planning report into the conversion said: “The building is an attractive and significant feature of the conservation area. But it is currently vacant and this proposal would provide for productive re-use and upkeep of the building as a heritage asset.”

The nearest branch of Domino's is in Keighley. A branch of Pizza Hut was based in Bingley Main Street until 2014, when Sainsburys Local took over the unit it was in.

The approved opening times for the takeaway are 10am to midnight on Sunday to Thursday and between 10am and 1am on Fridays and Saturdays.

Councillor David Heseltine (Cons, Bingley) said: “The fact that a building in the town centre is being brought back into use is good, but I have concerns about putting a takeaway on a very busy junction.

“We’ll have to keep an eye on it to make sure no issues arise from this new business.”

Jamie Illingworth, chairman of the Bingley Chamber of Trade, said: “It is another national name coming to Bingley, so that is a plus, and 25 jobs is good news for the town.

“The issue a lot of people had was with any late-night opening. I hope that Domino's Pizza will respect the town, and make sure there are no issues with anti-social behaviour late at night.”

A spokesman for Domino's said: “We are very much looking forward to bringing fresh, oven-baked pizza to homes in Bingley later this year.

“The new store will create 25 jobs for local people and our full team of trainee managers, pizza makers, customer service representatives and delivery experts will all be on-board and ready to serve delicious, piping hot pizza to residents.”