BRADFORD Council is seeking to extend its affordable housing programme by building 30 new homes on the site of the former Council office, Flockton House.

Now demolished, the site at Flockton Road near the historic Bolling Hall museum in East Bowling, already has outline permission for 30 homes, which the Council received in 2015.

The authority is looking to use the empty piece of land to carry on its successful programme to provide affordable homes in the district.

It is hoped that the scheme of two and three bed homes for rent will attract funding from the national Shared Ownership and Affordable Housing Programme.

In addition the Council hopes to build a further 16 homes on a nearby site at Flockton Road

This will enable the Council, which is currently assessing potential sites, to add to the 157 homes for rent or sale across seven sites that it intends to build through its current scheme.

These include homes already built at Cliffe Lane West in Baildon and Ripley Street in West Bowling, as well as other schemes at Baildon, Barkerend, Haworth and Keighley which are expected to be completed by autumn this year.

According to documents accompanying the planning application, the scheme at Flockton Road will be homes to rent at an affordable rate rather than for sale.

This is because studies have identified that the district “is experiencing increased demand for affordable houses”.

The layout and orientation of the buildings has been designed to maximise natural light and free heat gain, as well as to sit within the footprint of the former Flockton House.

Residents living nearby have vowed to petition the Council over the scheme.

They have concerns over the access off narrow Brompton Avenue as well as fears that the scheme will end up bringing what is effectively a Council housing estate to the area.

A spokesman for the Council said: “We are currently undertaking feasibility work on potential sites for the Shared Ownership and Affordable Housing Programme (SOAHP) 2016/21 before submitting detailed bids to Homes England for funding.

“The Flockton sites form part of this work. As with previous programmes it is expected that the new one will deliver a combination of affordable housing for rent and homes for sale, although as yet the mix across the sites has not yet been finalised.”

The Flockton House application is currently being considered by Council planners, and a decision is expected to be made by the end of March.