Council may redevelop homes in Bradford centre targeted by vandals

EMPTY homes in Bradford city centre could be redeveloped as council chiefs in the city say they have become a target for anti-social behaviour and drug use.

Up to 72 new homes and an 84-room extra care residential development could be built in and around Chain Street, Goitside, under proposals that have been drawn up by Bradford Council and social landlord Incommunities.

A report has been prepared for councillors highlighting why action is being taken in Chain Street where issues include empty properties becoming a target for anti-social behaviour and drug use and ageing and decaying housing.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The preferred approach to regenerating the area would involve:

Existing bed sits in Roundhill Place being altered to provide 14 three-bed and five-bed family houses.

Flats in Chain Street being demolished to make way for 33 three-bed and four-bed houses.

The Ashton Street car park becoming home to an 84-room extra care facility for the elderly.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The Westgate car park making way for a 524sq m commercial unit, 16 apartments and nine family houses.

A new linear park being created between Grattan Road and Wigan Street to provide a link for pedestrians and cyclists between the city centre and Manningham.

The proposals will be discussed by Bradford Council’s regeneration and economy overview and scrutiny committee on Thursday and by its executive committee on November 11.

Coun Val Slater, the council’s executive member for housing, said: “Chain Street is the top priority for improving city centre housing and the preferred option would provide a large number of family-sized homes.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“As well as creating high-quality new homes, improving this area would play a key role in assisting the wider regeneration of the city centre.”

Jez Lester, Incommunities’ assistant chief executive, asset management said: “We are working closely with the council to deliver high quality affordable homes on this key city centre site with the help of funding from the Homes and Communities Agency.

“The development would provide much needed family-sized accommodation for local people and complement the investment we have made in modernising existing homes in the area.”

Incommunities has secured £960,000 funding from the Homes and Communities Agency for the redevelopment of Roundhill Place and a £100,000 grant from Bradford Council’s empty homes programme. The programme could be phased depending on market demand.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

A market testing exercise to establish how the scheme could progress is due to be completed by the end of 2011.

Earlier this year councillors in the city were told of the need to reduce the number of empty homes in Bradford over the next six years in a move which a report described as “one of the district’s high priorities.”

Over the last three years the numbers of unused properties has reduced but members were earlier told that the city has a greater percentage of long-term privately-owned empty homes than Liverpool, Manchester or Leeds.

Figures in a draft report showed Bradford has 2.86 per cent, in comparison with 2.64 per cent in Liverpool, 2.36 per cent in Manchester and 1.95 per cent in Leeds.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Figures for 2010/11 show that there are 7,137 properties in the district that have been unused for more than six months and 3,640 with nobody living in them for less than six months. Figures from August suggest there are currently 6,292 long-term empty homes in the district.

Most empty homes occur due to people moving home, tenancies ending, the death of the householder or the occupant moving into care.