A MOVE to relax planning rules to breathe life into Bradford city centre has not proved popular with the police, it has emerged.

A meeting of Bradford Council's executive heard that the police were worried about the anti-social behaviour that might come along with a busier city centre.

But Bradford Council leader Councillor David Green criticised their position, saying if it was taken to its logical conclusion, they would be advocating an empty city centre.

He said: "We should have no shops, no businesses and no people in Bradford city centre because all of them lead to issues of anti-social behaviour, litter and noise. It just doesn't make sense."

He said people who decided to live in city centres would accept that they were noisy places.

The executive approved the new pilot scheme, which will make it easier to change the use of a business premises, for example from a shop to a restaurant, in areas near the Westfield development.

It will also allow the upper floors of shops to be turned into flats more easily.

If it proves a success, the scheme could be rolled out to other areas of the city and to town centres across the district.

Councillor Val Slater, executive member for planning, said: "It's about bringing back into use important buildings. It's about bringing back into use the upper floors of buildings which have remained empty and neglected and dusty for many years."

And Councillor Susan Hinchcliffe, executive member for employment, said it was good that the Government had made such schemes possible and that Bradford was making use of this.