PLANS to redevelop a scrap yard to create a new industrial site and two shops have been approved by Bradford Council.

The proposals for the site on Spencer Road, near the junction with Beckside Road in Lidget Green, were first submitted last December and, after the scheme was tweaked, it has just been approved.

Council planning officers said developing the vehicle scrap yard site, which lies in an designated employment zone, would have “clear environmental benefits” for the area.

The application said the site needed a “comprehensive regeneration” and that the development would create 10 jobs.

A 39 space car park would be created on the site, between the shops that will front the street and the industrial units to the rear of the site.

Industrial unit damaged in blaze to be restored and refurbished

The application said: “The site current consists of scrap yard with a large number of vehicles stacked highly within the site.

“Given the existence of residential dwellings on the northern side, the site does provide rather unattractive views from those dwellings, and poor environmental distraction.

“The general neighbourhood does require comprehensive regeneration which it is hope the project would encourage if given approval.”

Originally the plan, submitted by Mr Hussain, was for the three industrial units and a supermarket.

But changes have been made since the application was submitted, and now there will be two smaller shops, each measuring 122 square metres, instead of the supermarket.

Approving the plans, Council officers pointed out that shops would not usually be allowed in employment zones. But they acknowledged that two retail units would help developers with the high costs of transforming the site.

Planning officers at Bradford Council said: “As the development site is currently in use as a vehicle scrapyard, the environmental benefits of the development are clear, but in addition the site will retain a favourable balance of employment uses over the retail aspect.

“The two small retail outlets are also likely to evolve to support the function of the wider employment land providing associated services to the workers.

“It is also accepted that the retail element will be required to assist in the costs of developing the site, which are likely to include notable remediation works given the nature of the current use.

“The proposal has clear and discernible benefits for the site and wider regeneration of the area given the nature of the current use.”

They said the new shops were small enough that they “would not be deemed a threat to vitality and viability of the allocated centres” of Great Horton and Lidget Green.

A condition was placed on the application to prevent the two shops from being merged into one large unit.