A COMMUNITY has reacted angrily to news that Bradford Council is selling off a green space where children play.

Locals thought they had won their battle earlier this year, when a planning committee threw out council plans to build homes on the site, saying it should be saved for kids to play on.

But despite this, the authority is now putting the land up for auction, much to residents' dismay.

The three-acre site off Parkway in West Bowling, Bradford, is listed for an auction in Leeds on December 2, with a guide price of £100,000.

One resident, Shahid Islam, said the first they knew about it was when someone spotted a 'for sale' sign on the land.

He said: "People are just absolutely going ballistic about this. We have been let down by everybody who promised that we didn't have to worry any more because the Council had been defeated."

Mr Islam said residents would oppose any future attempt to build on the site.

He said: "We will stand against any further planning application, to make sure that this space is protected for children's play, because it is really well used.

"In summer, in particular when it is school holidays, you can't even play a game of football there because there are so many kids playing."

The Council's asset management team had tried to secure planning permission for 45 homes on the site, to raise its value before selling it.

But in February, the regulatory and appeals committee refused to grant permission, saying the land should be left alone for children to play on.

Councillor Naveeda Ikram (Lab, Little Horton) was one of those who convinced the meeting to refuse the plans.

She said she was unhappy with the situation they were now in, saying the land was "one of the only green spaces left in my ward".

But she said she recognised that the Council was facing major financial challenges.

She said: "The Council is absolutely struggling.

"It's like when you make the last moves to save yourself from drowning. This is exactly what is happening right now in terms of its assets."

Fellow ward councillor Sher Khan (Lab, Little Horton) said they had tried to secure funding to develop the land as a playground, but had been unsuccessful.

A spokesman for Bradford Council said: "The land at Parkway is surplus to our requirements.

"Its sale will reduce our maintenance costs and raise a capital receipt to support Council priorities.

"The land is the site of tower blocks that were demolished some years ago and grassed over until the future of the site was determined.

"We have never held it for recreational provision, which instead is provided by the nearby Bowling Park."