£430m demolition of old college building in Keighley will spur development says council

The 1950s-era building was formerly part of the campus of Keighley College, which has now relocated to a site next to the town’s railway station. A larger Victorian building nearby has already been torn down.

Councillors said the demolition of the second building, on Cavendish Street, would make the area “more attractive for redevelopment”.

Bradford Council is considering plans for a “public sector hub” on the site of the first building, but the plans are dependent on third-party funding.

In the 1990s, the council pulled down a parade of shops in Bradford city centre to make way for the future development of the Broadway shopping mall, but the site remained empty and fenced off for several years until building could begin.

Paul North, the council’s delivery manager, said there were no currently development proposals for the Cavendish Street site on the table.

But he added: “At the moment, the site is not doing anything, and to encourage development it is necessary to move it on.

“Interested people may have been waiting to see what we were about to do with it.”

The council’s planning and transport executive member, Coun Alex Ross-Shaw, said: “The demolition of the Cavendish Street building will be a big step forward for the site, and will make it more attractive for redevelopment. The Council will re–market the site at an appropriate time, once the demolition timetable is agreed.”