A MASTERPLAN to expand the Interchange rail and bus station has moved a step closer, with Bradford Council buying up a key site nearby.

The authority, which hopes to create a new gateway entrance to the station on Hall Ings, has now confirmed it has bought the NCP car park for £4.15m, after months of rumours about the site.

Council bosses said they have primarily bought the site as a commercial investment, but that it could also play a key part in their long-term plan to improve the Interchange.

Councillor Alex Ross-Shaw, executive member for regeneration, said this would complement the existing plan for a £17m revamp of nearby Bradford Forster Square station.

He said: “If you come into Forster Square or the Interchange, it’s not the best face of Bradford. That’s why we have got these ambitious plans – these two station masterplans.”

Bradford Council is pushing for the city to get a new high-speed station at the Interchange, on the planned Northern Powerhouse Rail line between Leeds and Manchester.

But Cllr Ross-Shaw said they hoped to take forward the Interchange redevelopment, whether the city was to get a new high-speed rail station there or not.

And while the redevelopment plans are still many years away, Council bosses say they are confident they can make a good income from the building for now, as they are leasing it to NCP which will continue running it as a commercial car park.

Cllr Ross-Shaw said: “Adding this into the Council’s ownership just opens up a few potential opportunities for the station redevelopment, so it has both a short-term revenue benefit and a long-term strategic benefit as well.”

Councillor John Pennington, deputy leader of the opposition Conservatives, gave a mixed reaction to the news.

He questioned the purchase of the car park, saying it was a “substantial investment in the short-term”.

He said: “I thought we were short of money. Possibly we do have better things to be spending the money on.”

But Cllr Pennington said if it then allowed them to create a high-speed rail station entrance on Hall Ings, it could well be worth it.

He said: “If that’s the reason, that’s good for Bradford. It would be actually quite spectacular.”

Stuart McKinnon-Evans, the Council's strategic director of corporate services, said: “The Council purchased the car park as an investment. 

"We paid £4.15m and will earn a yield of 7.4 per cent.

"This allows us to more than cover the costs of buying it, making a net surplus each year, which gives us more money to spend on services. 

"This is a good use of our money, in line with our recently adopted policy of investing in assets to generate net returns.  We are being very selective about which assets we buy, and in this case have got a good long-term investment.”

NCP did not respond to requests for a comment.

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