NEW plans to build 126 flats inside a city centre building with a troubled past have been approved by Bradford councillors.

The future of the Xchange tower block, located above easy Gym and the former Five Guys restaurant, was left hanging in the balance in April 2018 when the original company behind the complex, Pinnacle (Bradford) Ltd, went out of business.

Administrators Quantuma tied up a deal to secure its future in September last year, but despite saying it would be complete in March, the deal was only approved at the end of February and planning permission was granted this month.

The former Arndale House building, in Charles Street, will now be refurbished between the second and eighth floors, with 126 flats, including 98 one bedroom flats and 28 two bedroom flats.

The ground floor and first floor will only be used as access points.

Some of the original investors of the scheme handed over between 50 and 80 per cent of the value of their flats as a deposit, which they had stood to lose if a new deal had not been secured when Pinnacle (Bradford) Ltd collapsed.

One investor bought a two bedroom-flat and car parking space inside the Xchange building back in September 2016 after deciding to invest part of his pension.

He claimed he was told the development would take 10 months when be bought a flat as an investment after taking early retirement.

However, after months of waiting patiently, it transpired very little work had taken place and getting hold of someone in charge was a difficult task.

Once the administrators were appointed and a deal was secured, buyers were asked to pay off the rest of their flats and hand over an extra 14 per cent to see the flats completed.

Some investors agreed to hand over the extra cash, but others said they could not risk more money and pulled out - losing out on the original investment.

The new deal transfers the long leasehold into a new special purpose vehicle (SPV) controlled by the original investors, allowing them to appoint new developers to complete the project, with completion expected within the next six months.

Quantuma was appointed as administrators of Pinnacle (Bradford) Limited, part of the Manchester-based Pinnacle Group, after the construction company ran out of funds in 2017.

Three companies run by Pinnacle Alliance all went into administration in 2017 and 2018 after failing to finish student accommodation blocks in Liverpool.