Historic listed building 'occuped by pigeons' to be brought back into use

And the proposals argue that if nothing is done to regenerate the building soon it will “fall further into disrepair.”

6 Rawson Place is part of a row of listed buildings that front onto a pedestrianised street in Bradford city centre’s “top of town” area.

The building, a ground floor shop unit with several stories above, has been vacant for years.

Now a planning application to refurbish the property, which dates back to the 1870s, has been submitted to Bradford Council.

The plans, by Jamil Ashraf, call for the ground floor to be refurbished and remain as a shop or office space.

The upper floors will be converted into eight apartments.

The building has a long recent planning history – with plans to turn the upper floors into housing dating back to 2007.

However, these plans were never implemented.

An unauthorised modern shop front has since been fitted on the listed building – with multiple applications to retain this unauthorised work being dismissed by Bradford Council.

A sign for a business called Sasa Accessories has been fitted on the building – but the unit has remained shuttered.

The planning application says: “To provide a fresh use to the vacant commercial building at no 6-6A Rawson Place will assist with sustainable use and providing city living.

“Therefore, the residential apartments would seem to be an obvious choice for conversion of upper floors and retaining active retail or commercial frontage on the ground floor.

“Basically, if nothing positive is done, then these commercial spaces will fall further into disrepair as the interior has been occupied by pigeons and also roof damage allowing rainwater ingress that damage floors and timber supports.

“Our clients have done several projects in Bradford already and have a wealth of residential apartment’s experience that will make this scheme commercially viable. It will also improve the visual appearance of Rawson Place.”

A decision on the application is expected imminently.

The Victorian shopping street has fallen on hard times over the past decade – dominated by empty and derelict units.

The closure of B&M and Wilko on Rawson Place has lead to a drop in footfall.

But in 2023 plans to refurbish 8 Rawson Place were approved, and work on that building has now started.

And last year the Bradford Dementia Hub opened in 14-16 Rawson Place.

In the coming years the street will be one of the main shopping streets for the new City Village – which is being built on the site of the Kirkgate Shopping Centre and Oastler Centre.