A plot of green space earmarked for 75 houses is among the latest assets Bradford Council plans to sell on to balance its books.
Bradford Council is in the middle of disposing of scores of assets – from plots of land to buildings and car parks, as part of its attempts to reach financial sustainability.
Now the latest set of assets to be sold has been revealed, and includes the freehold of a city car dealership and a potential development site in Keighley.
In 2024 the Government agreed to provide Bradford Council with “exceptional financial support” to help it avoid bankruptcy.
As well as allowing the Council to borrow money, the support allowed the authority to sell assets to fund its day-to-day operations.
Under normal financial rules, Councils can only use the money raised from asset sales for other capital projects – not services like social care or road repairs.
New documents show that the Council’s Interim Strategic Director Corporate Resources/S.151 officer Stephen Mair has recently approved the disposal of a number of different assets.
No potential sale prices for the assets have yet been decided.
One of the largest plots to be disposed of is land off Hainworth Wood Road, Hainworth Road and Gingerbread Clough in Keighley.
That site is included in Bradford’s Draft Local Plan as having the potential to support a 75-house development.
Others include an industrial building on Hillam Road, Bradford, that is currently let to Surefreight International Limited on a 99-year lease that began in 1979, and a car dealership, also on Hillam Road, leased to Beckside 4 x 4 Limited.
3.36 acres of grazing land at North Dene Road in Silsden has also been approved for disposal. Part of the site is leased to a farm business, and the land is included as a possible housing site in the Council’s Draft Local Plan.
The Hainworth Road site is described as:
“A site comprising approximately 9.28 acres (3.76 hectares) and currently subject to two individual grazing licences.
“The land is allocated for the development of circa 75 units within the Bradford area Draft Local Plan.
“The area known as Gingerbread Clough is a tree shelter belt running along the line of a part culverted water course across the site and classified as green space to be retained as green space as part of any future development plans.”
Councillors have until Friday (October 2) to “call in” any of the plans for further consideration.
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