THE flamboyant facade of a city centre pub has been slammed by planners for ‘harming’ Bradford’s historic Ivegate. 

A retrospective application for The Dubliner was lodged with Bradford Council, but was refused after heritage guardians hit out over the design. 

Conservation officer Jon Ackroyd said it was unclear why the application, for a building in the City Centre Conservation Area, had been validated without any heritage or design statement.

And a report from the planning officer said the property does not have planning permission for use as a drinking establishment.

“Furthermore, the fascia sign to the front elevation requires advertisement consent,” it added.

“The development works as carried out are therefore unauthorised and a breach of planning control.”

The report said the while the previous shopfront was neglected, the building “contributed positively to the overall character of the street”.

In refusing the application, the planning officer said: “The development works carried out to the façade of the building results in an incongruous appearance, which draws attention to itself by its discordancy from typical and expected traditional shopfront proportions and appearance of the City Centre Conservation Area. 

“No information has been provided with this application to justify the design approach taken, which fails to preserve the character and setting of the conservation area.”

The report said the works were detrimental to the appearance of the conservation area, leading to “harm to the designated heritage asset”.

A spokesperson for C49 Architecture, agent for the applicant, told the Telegraph & Argus: “Our client took over this run-down unit which was a former charity shop and looked to bring a new drinking establishment onto Ivegate.

"Unfortunately the company unknowingly has done this without the correct planning consents. 

“They will now be looking to rectify this at their own cost and amend the frontage as required, working with the Council. 

“The Dubliner is fully licensed and shall be putting the correct planning permissions in for the usage and advertisement.”

They added: “The company is looking to increase the standards in Bradford, owning a number of establishments they strive to ensure Bradford drinking establishments are of a higher standard than previously expected in the area. 

“Our client has now employed ourselves fully to rectify all the issues and advice on future investments in Bradford city centre to ensure everything is done correctly.”

The pub is due to close for a couple of weeks while the issues are resolved, a post on its Facebook page said yesterday.