WORK on a business park in Baildon is now complete, with all the units now "either occupied or under offer."

Baildon Business Park off Otley Road is home to businesses including Aerospace company Produmax, which manufactures aircraft parts and medical equipment manufacturer Anetic Aid.

Bradford Council has revealed that all 22 units on the site are either occupied or sold, and the park should be fully occupied by the end of the year.

There are currently 250 staff on site and that number is expected to rise to 375 once all the units are occupied.

However, when the site was first proposed the Council had hoped it could create 700 jobs. The plans were scaled back from the original scheme, with a hotel and convenience store dropped following the recession.

The park, now called Sapper Jordan Rossi Park - named after the first Bradford soldier to be killed in Afghanistan, was given as an example of the regeneration projects happening in the Shipley constituency at a recent meeting of Bradford Council's Regeneration and Environment Scrutiny Committee.

Plans for this new retail development in Shipley have been approved

A report to the committee said the units were now all taken, adding: "Considering the scheme was developed during the deepest recession for a generation it has proved very successful, borne out by the fact that the majority of the units sold off plan despite the economic conditions."

Since the plans for the scheme were announced over 10 years ago, there has been strong opposition for the development from some quarters. There were objections to the fact that the site would be built on a field, and even when businesses started moving onto the site some objectors described it as a "disastrous" development.

Councillor Alex Ross-Shaw, Portfolio Holder for Regeneration, Planning and Transport, said: “We are thrilled the park has become so successful.

“Companies currently based on site employ almost 250 staff with world-leading aerospace company, Produmax doubling its workforce to over 70 in less than four years and winning industry accolades.

“Every unit has been sold and by the end of 2019, the Baildon Business Park will be fully occupied.

“We will continue to work with the businesses to do everything we can to ensure they thrive.

“The Baildon Business Park project is part of a broad range of initiatives designed to boost investment, growth and employment across Bradford district.”

Councillor Debbie Davies (Cons, Baildon) has previously pointed out that the development was now different from the "science and technology" park announced a decade ago.

On the news the site was now fully occupied, she said: "I'm pleased that it is occupied. My criticism was that the original plans promised 700 jobs, a hotel, local shops - what we have now is completely different.

"I think there should have been a bit more honesty over what it was actually going to look like.

"Once the site had been built on and the green was gone it is better for units replacing it to be occupied rather than to stand empty."