A FORMER community centre and church could be demolished to make way for a new industrial building.

A planning application to flatten the currently vacant building on Fred's Place, off Sticker Lane, and replace it with a modern 442 square metre business unit, has this week been submitted to Bradford Council.

The impressive stone building is the former home of the Church of God of Prophecy, but has most recently been used as a community centre that has a capacity for 200 people.

Plans submitted by Shah Hussain say the building is deteriorating, and that there has been very little interest in anyone taking on the property.

The application says the community centre, next to the JCT600 dealership, has not been used since 2018.

The plans say: "The existing building has been stood empty for some time and is gradually falling into disrepair. There is very little interest from would be occupiers to lease the building, especially in its current state and assigned use class.

"The site is slowly becoming an eye sore and is very costly to maintain. Action needs to be taken to ensure that new life is injected into the site.

Derelict pub could be flattened to make way for shops and flats

"The property is not listed and does not fall within the setting of other listed buildings, nor is it within a conservation area. Whilst previously in use as a community centre, the property is not listed as a community asset."

It says the site is targeted by fly tippers and the property "has some very concerning defects that are worsening / costly to repair."

It adds: "There are excessive amounts of damp, asbestos, water ingress and structural damage.

"If the existing building were to be retained, the site owner would have to sell the property and withdraw from any development plans. Following our viability appraisal, we have reached the conclusion that this option is not at all feasible.

"We envisage the sale of the property, with such heavy restrictions assigned, would no doubt be extremely difficult, especially in the current economic climate."

The application says the traditional church building will be replaced by an industrial unit with a "modern design."

It adds: "Where most buildings of this nature are basic in both design and appearance, we do not wish to follow this trend. Although we appreciate and understand the practical nature of the building, we don’t believe good design should be sacrificed as result."

There would be nine care parking spaces on the site, including EV charging points, and three cycle parking spaces.

The application does not specify what type of business would be based at the site.

In 2011 an application to turn the building into a furniture showroom was refused by the Council.

A decision on the application is expected to be made in July.