Huge Thornton Road development, including over 300 flats, is approved

The application for the development of three sites off Thornton Road included over 300 flats, shops, a petrol filling station and drive thru café.

It will be one of the biggest private development proposals in the city centre in years.

First revealed last year, the scheme went before Bradford Council’s Regulatory and Appeals Committee on Thursday, when members were told that granting approval would unlock funding for much needed housing in Bradford.

They were also told the filling station and cafe were needed to help pay for the flats development.

Submitted by Mi7 Projects Limited, the plans were approved by the majority of members on the committee.

The proposals are split up into three parts. A large, former gasworks site on Thornton Road would host the petrol station and café, as well as high rise buildings containing around 200 flats.

A smaller triangular plot of land on Listerhills Road would have a number of shops on the ground floor, with multiple storeys of flats built above.

And the former Globus Textiles site on the other side of Listerhills Road would be home to the remainder of the flats.

An artist's impression of the planned development (Image: Mi7)

The proposals that went before the committee were outline plans – members were told that exact details of the flats, including the number and style, would be submitted at a later date.

“Phase one” would be the filling station and café.

Planning officer Stewart Currie told members the sites had long been empty – and the triangular site was last used as the marketing office for a nearby residential development that never went ahead.

He said the residential buildings on the main site would be up to 10 storeys high.

Members were told that the Thornton Road site had been included in the Council’s City Centre Area Action Plan – a document that set out future developments in Bradford.

It suggested up to 400 homes could be built on this site. Mr Currie acknowledged the 207 flats on this area of land proposed in this plan was a shortfall, but added: “This will still bring a substantial level of development to this site.”

There had been a number of objections to the plans, mainly relating to concerns that the development included no provision to improve Bradford Beck, which runs through a section of the Thornton Road site.

Mr Currie said: “While we’d certainly like to see the re-opening and de-culverting of the beck, the application says, and this has been independently verified, that it is not viable to do this.

“The costs associated with the scheme mean they are not able to carry out work to benefit the beck.”

These costs also mean the residential side of the plans would include no affordable housing.

Councillor Matt Edwards (Green, Tong) pointed out that a huge chunk of the site was taken up by car centric businesses.

With these businesses being phase one, he asked: “What mechanisms do we have to ensure the housing goes forward, and we don’t just end up with a new petrol station and drive thru?”

Mr Currie said: “We’re not in a position where we can provide any cast iron guarantee what will happen.

“We can’t compel an applicant to develop out a full scheme.”

The flats would be built on the back of the Thornton Road site to allow a buffer between the busy road and future residents.

But Cllr Edwards pointed out there would be two businesses that had the potential to increase air pollution between the flats and the road. He added: “It could get to the point that when the full plans for residential come in, the air pollution on that site is so bad that you can’t build homes there.”

Jo Steele, representing the applicants, said: “It has take five years for my client to assemble this package, and they have end users for the businesses in place.

“In the last 18 months they have been in discussions with West Yorkshire Combined Authority for possible funding.

“It is just not viable for this scheme to shoulder the substantial costs of culverting Bradford Beck.

“This scheme will be transformational, and could lead to a further phase that would bring another multi million pound investment into the city.

“Property values in this area of the city are depressed, which means the market can’t support new housing without help.

“The help for this scheme comes in the form of the commercial units planned, and grants from WYCA. Both are essential.”

He said the WYCA grant to build the housing would only be signed off once planning permission is approved.”

The majority of committee members voted to approve the plans, With Cllr Edwards voting against.