PROPOSALS to develop land on the edge of Bradford city centre have been approved - more than 15 years after the site was first earmarked as a regeneration opportunity.

A planning application to build industrial buildings, smaller light industrial units and a restaurant on land next to Barkerend Mills has been approved by Bradford Council.

If these plans go ahead, it means the land will be developed after 30 years of standing vacant.

The land off Barkerend Road was once part of the Barkerend Mills complex, but the mill buildings on the site were demolished more than 30 years ago and the site has been empty ever since.

Bradford Telegraph and Argus: The site off Barkerend RoadThe site off Barkerend Road

It is also often targeted by fly-tippers.

The site was included in the Regen2000 scheme – a £28m project in the early Noughties to regenerate areas of Leeds Road and Barkerend.

A residential and business development was planned for the site, but never went ahead.

The only signs of the planned regeneration is an access road that was built as part of the scheme but now leads nowhere.

Submitted by Fraz Investments Ltd, the new application says the development would create 70 full-time jobs, and breathe new life into a site that currently “attracts the less desirable elements of society".

The new business will be spread out between four buildings on the site, and there will be parking for 74 cars, including four electric charging spaces, 10 motorbikes and 10 bicycles.

Planning officers said: “The development as it will deliver a scheme as originally envisaged during the Regen2000 period.

“The development will improve the appearance of the site, reduce the incidences of fly-tipping and provide much needed small business units in an area where modern premises are in very short supply, thereby providing employment opportunities for local residents.”

New planning policies require major developments to lead to an increase in biodiversity. If this is not possible, developers will be asked to fund biodiversity improvements elsewhere.

Planning officers say the approval of this development is on the condition that “the applicant has agreed to pay a commuted sum to allow enhancements to be made to a site within the Barkerend Ward".

“The identified site is the Boars Well Local Wildlife Site which is currently unmanaged woodland and mixed scrub and would benefit from management to improve its condition and species diversity," they said.

An application to convert neighbouring Barkerend Mills into a residential development was approved last year, although that development is yet to begin.