Councillors responsible for organising how Bradford's children in care are looked after have demanded assurances that the district's new children's homes are up to scratch.

It follows the completion of three homes earlier this year with two more still to open.

Members of the Council's corporate parenting panel said they were concerned quality is being lost so construction deadlines can be met.

Owlthorpe children's home, Shipley, Rowan House in Thornton, and Edgefield in Allerton opened earlier this year.

Sky View in East Morton is expected to be finished next month, and only Netherlands Square, Odsal, has yet to be started.

Councillor Lynne Joyce (Lab, Keighley Central) said a balance needed to be struck between the quality of the building and speed of construction.

And Councillor John Godward (Lab, Great Horton) agreed, saying: "You can make things look right in a new building, but it can be two or three years down the road before you find out something is wrong."

He added: "If we have to wait a bit longer to get a building of quality that is sustainable - let's do that, rather than just being able to have another building."

Lal Saki, divisional services manager for resources in the Council's children's section, admitted there had been problems in meeting deadlines.

He said building work on Sky View in East Morton was to be completed in October, but it is now expected to be finished on November 12.

He said: "We started off very well but then work was bedevilled by delays due to supply of materials and bad weather. We have been working to try and capture the time lost, but that has been difficult. Needless to say we will have the building completed by the end of this year but realistically, to try and get staff in place, that will now by in early 2005."

Mr Saki said work could begin on Netherlands Square next month and a 26-week construction period is expected. It will open in 2005.

He said there have been problems getting staff, and that the department is still looking for someone to manage Sky View, but he said Bradford's care home programme had set tough targets for itself.

"It is sometimes forgotten that what we have done in building five new homes has not been done elsewhere in the country, it is quite unique in terms of its scope and scale," he said.