A developer has quit Bradford after claiming he suffered a "planning nightmare" over his bid to build apartments in historic Little Germany.

Riz Haq, who is now working on £25 million-worth of residential developments in Huddersfield, said he paid around £100,000 to change building designs in an effort to win approval from Bradford Council.

But the Council hit back, saying Mr Haq's designs were not suitable for that part of the city.

Mr Haq, of Leeds-based West Park Developments, wanted to create a modern building with a roof resembling waves in the historic German wool merchants' quarter. The £8 million building in East Parade, which would have included a swimming pool, would have been called The Wave.

But the planning application hit an early snag as English Heritage told Bradford Council's planning department that the building would not fit in with its historic surroundings.

Mr Haq went back to the drawing board after consultation with planning officers. But the subsequent new scheme - without its controversial roof - still did not satisfy planning officers.

The plans were for a six-storey building containing 48 apartments and two penthouses, ranging in price from £100,000 to £400,000.

Eventually Mr Haq decided to convert the existing building instead of demolishing it and building a new complex. But his new planning application was again turned down by councillors, and Mr Haq faced a further return to the drawing board.

But Mr Haq said today he had given up on Bradford and would pull his cash out in favour of schemes in Huddersfield which had planning permission.

He said: "The whole thing has been a nightmare from start to finish - I no longer want to spend my money on Bradford. It has taken me two and a half years to get nowhere and it has cost me £100,000. I am creating developments worth £25 million in Huddersfield where there have been no problems."

But Bradford Council's executive member for regeneration Councillor Simon Cooke said: "This is disappointing. There were significant issues.

"We are not interested in cheap and cheerful developments. We have significant high-quality buildings in Little Germany.

"We have to make sure this quality is maintained. We are looking for mixed developments rather than just apartments and like to see shops and activities on the ground floor which create a vibrant street scene. If you don't you get a dead environment. We didn't want what they wanted to do."