Investigation launched after fridge and soiled mattress fly-tipped at car park in Yorkshire

Waste including a fridge, soiled mattresses and children’s toys can be found on the Orange Street car park next to a shipping container that was once the Chaii Walay café. Waste – including what looks like a sign for the business – is also piled up behind a fence that seems to be buckling under the weight of the discarded items.

Bradford Council says it is arranging to have the waste cleared, and investigating the site “to establish the source”. In May 2020 a shipping container was installed on land immediately behind the Orange Street car park – one of the few public car parks on Leeds Road and one that includes two EV charging bays.

It opened as a café called Chaii Walay, with a retrospective planning application following later in the year. That was refused by Bradford Council in early 2021, with highways officers saying the car park had been provided by the council for use by residents and local businesses “not for direct use for any trading purposes.”

A second retrospective application followed later that year, and this one was also refused. Although the business had suggested an alternative customer parking area off Florence Street, officers questioned whether people would go to the effort of using this when there was a free car park directly in front of the café.

Then, in a twist to the planning saga, a Government inspector overturned the refusal after applicant Shahid Khan appealed against the council’s decision. Planning inspector R Hitchcock said there was little evidence that parking was an issue on Leeds Road.

The decision divided opinion, with some questioning the inspector’s findings and others praising the decision to support a new business.

Currently the container is in a sorry state, with much of the signage and cladding of the building pulled down – with parts of it seemingly dumped around the former café. Other waste on the site, such as a child’s toy, seemingly has no link to the café business.

A Bradford Council spokesperson said: “We are aware of this fly-tipping and our parking services team are making arrangements to get the car park cleared. In addition, the Environmental Enforcement Team is investigating to establish the source of the waste and enforcement action will be taken where possible.”