A WRANGLE has broken out over traffic concerns raised in response to an application lodged to turn former Council offices into a new school.

In 2016, the Department for Education gave the go ahead for the Feversham Education Trust to open an all girl’s academy in the city.

Earlier this year, plans were submitted to transform Future House on Bolling Road, the former home of Education Bradford, and then Bradford Council’s Children’s Services department, into a new 600-pupil school called Bronte Girls Academy.

But in consultation, Bradford Council's highways department raised a number of issues it had with the Transport Assessment submitted with the application.

Highway Officer Jennifer Craven said the proposal would be "likely" to lead to an increase in pedestrians crossing the busy roundabout where there are no crossing facilities.

She said this gives rise to the "potential for an increase in road traffic accidents".

A footpath along the southern boundary of the site, which links to Hall Lane and beyond, was said to be a "potential safety issue".

The report pointed out that it is suggested that only 26 per cent of students would be likely to travel by car and 57 per cent likely to walk.

The officer said: "In this location where children would be required to cross busy roads and walking routes are undesirable through industrial areas (some with limited natural surveillance) I feel it is unlikely that this many would walk to school and parents would be more likely to carry out combined trips by car to and from work or the shops for example. A more realistic proportion of trips likely to be by car would be around 50 per cent, effectively doubling the impact the development would be likely to have on the highway."

She concluded that it is "likely the proposed development would have a detrimental

impact on the capacity of already busy junctions on busy classified distributer roads, likely to lead to conditions prejudicial to pedestrian and highway safety."

Her report said: "It is unlikely that these issues could be resolved and therefore I am unable to support the proposed development."

However, SLR Consulting, for applicant BAM Construct Ltd, refuted this view and said there are no traffic or transportation grounds on which to refuse the application.

In another lengthy technical note, SLR said there are options available to satisfy concerns of the Council's highways department.

It also details an assessment taking into account a higher percentage - 58 per cent- of pupils travelling school by car.

SLR Consulting said: "This alternative assessment demonstrates that the impact of the proposals is necessarily greater than that in the TA (Transport Assessment), but it is considered that this is not a realistic scenario, given the location of the site which sits centrally to its proposed catchment and is well provided for in terms of accessibility by other modes."

It adds: "Additional measures have been proposed to improve the ease of movement for pedestrians in the vicinity of the site and ensure that this presents a reasonable and attractive option."

The note reiterates the consultant's view that the application is "considered to be acceptable in traffic and transport terms".