WHEN Malcolm Bayliss was getting ready to move house he came across a large model of the proposed development that he had worked on back to the 1970s which would become Maple Court in Bingley.

After dusting down the scale model he got in touch with the local retirement housing officer, Janet Warren, and a few days later the wooden model titled ‘Ash Terrace Aged Persons Flatlets’ was in the scheme’s communal lounge for everyone to see.

The development was designed by Malcolm and his architects’ team who were based in the now demolished Jacob’s Well building.

It formed part of a major Council housing programme started in the mid 1970s.

The scheme comprised of 58 flats.

A key design feature involved positioning the main entrance off Ash Terrace, a side road coming off the busy main Bradford Road running through the town. The flats were also laid out to reduce traffic noise for residents.

The development was completed in 1981 and named Maple Court to complement the ‘tree’ names of other local roads.

The construction would transform the site of an old Council tip site and deliver a new generation of retirement homes. The original design also included an adjacent scout hut and today the site still houses a scout training centre.

In the coming weeks Incommunities is starting work on refurbishing the communal lounge at Maple Court and fitting a new kitchen.

Work is also continuing to turn studio flats into spacious one bedroom apartments complete with modern kitchen and bathrooms.

Malcolm said: “I’m delighted that Incommunities has been able display the model at its home. It was created by the Council’s model maker at the time and is very accurate to the final development and formed an integral part of the planning process.

“Five decades later it’s lovely to see how true to the final design the model is and see Maple Court continues to offer popular retirement accommodation.”