Bradford Council sells sites near park for homes
Two sites which were on the market for a total of £800,000 have been sold to a housing developer as part of Bradford Council's attempts to plug its budget gap.Breck Homes has completed the unconditional purchase of the plots which sit either side of Bowling Pool and yards from Bolling Hall Museum in East Bowling.Details of how much they were sold for have not been revealed but each plot, which is within walking distance of Bowling Park, was listed by estate agents Mark Brearley & Co with a £400,000 asking price.The developer has yet to submit a planning application but proposes turning the former car park into 20 affordable homes and the former council office site into another 32 houses.
A spokesperson for the developer said the schemes would include a combination of shared ownership properties and homes for affordable rent.Construction work was set to start in mid-2026 subject to planning approval, they said.Planning applications are expected to be lodged with the council in the coming weeks.Residents will then be asked for their views and comments on each development as part of the planning process before a final decision is made.One plot of land is a former car park on Flockton Road.The other is vacant land on Brompton Avenue that was once home to a council office building and, before that, the Bolling School for Girls.
Last year the two plots were included in a list of more than 150 assets Bradford Council planned to sell off in a bid to balance its books.Andy Garnett, a director of the Lancashire-based Breck, said: "West Yorkshire has ambitious plans to deliver 38,000 new homes over the next 15 years to meet its growing need."The redevelopment of brownfield sites for affordable homes is an important part of this strategy and is also a key part of Breck's approach to development."Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North or tell us a story you think we should be covering here.
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