THE site of a former pub will be landscaped in the coming weeks after demolition work was completed.

The Branch Pub on Otley Road, Shipley, was recently purchased by Bradford Council as part of junction improvement plans. Plans to demolish the building, which dates back to 1850, were approved by a planning panel in June, although members were told it could take “a number of years” for the ambitious highways project to be completed.

Officers said in the meantime, the site would be landscaped and turned into a temporary green space.

Now the demolition is complete, a Bradford Council spokesperson said that work would begin shortly. They added: “The Bradford and Otley Road junction is part of a wider programme of highways works planned for the Shipley to Bradford corridor to reduce congestion, and improve accessibility and public transport in the area.

“We will be consulting on the proposals in the coming months, so in the interim, the section will be landscaped. Work has already begun and should be complete in the next couple of weeks.”

The junction improvements at the site of the former Branch pub are part of a planned £42 million road improvement project between Shipley and Bradford, to be funded by the West Yorkshire Combined Authority.

On Tuesday at a meeting of Bradford Council, Councillor Kevin Warnes (Green, Shipley) will ask what the council is doing to involve Shipley residents in the planned roadworks.

In a question to the Council's leaders he will ask: "What steps have been taken to date to involve local residents and community groups in exploring the full range of possible design options for the new junction and thereby maximising its capacity for cutting air pollution and boosting low carbon travel, cycling and local walking networks?"