A NEW retirement home could be built in Shipley - next to a recently approved care home development.

Last year a planning application to demolish an existing, vacant industrial unit at Canal Works, Victoria Street, and build a 66 bed care home on part of the site was approved by Bradford Council.

Now the same company, Torison Care Limited, has submitted an application for the other section of the site - to build 56 retirement apartments on a section of the site opposite Victoria Mills.

The new building would be four storeys high, and have 45 car parking spaces and 20 cycle parking spaces.

It would be aimed at the over 55s, with a communal lounge on the ground floor.

Like the care home plan on the other section of the site, the entrance would be on Salts Mill Road.

Located on the main road leading to Salts Mill in the World Heritage Site of Saltaire - one of the District's biggest attractions, the site is also next to the Leeds Liverpool Canal.

It has been vacant for a number of years.

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The application says: "The previous buildings on the site were somewhat of an eyesore, having fallen into a state of disrepair over recent years.

"The objective is to provide a character of accommodation that would provide a higher quality of life for residents more suitable to people over 55 with the option for tailored care to be provided to suit their needs.

"It is to provide accommodation respectful of the character of the area and that makes best use of the sites most positive assets, attributes and aspects.

"The site lies close to residential properties with excellent accessibility to public transport, amenities and local services, including Shipley centre with its shops, transport links and local amenities.

"The development of this site for retirement apartments will have a positive impact upon the area by developing the site for a use that would be beneficial and compliment the approved care home, whilst providing a development sympathetic in terms of its scale and design."

With the site being a short distance from Saltaire and opposite the listed Victoria Mills, the plans will be subject to an extra layer of scrutiny. A Heritage statement included in the plans says: "The proposed apartments have been considerately designed and sited so as to reflect and draw upon architectural features from it’s nearby environment.

"The palette of materials used for the proposed building are respectful of the earlier examples of traditionally constructed Victoria Mills facing it to the north across the Salts Mill Road.

"Simple, repetitive detailing of the Mill is used in elegant and classical proportions. These proportions are reflected in the careful consideration of window design of the apartments to provide a clear link to the surroundings. Rather than attempt to mimic the stone with a poor substitute reconstituted stone a good quality brick with a texture and colour to compliment the Mill is anticipated."

The Salts Mill Road area of the town is one that is already undergoing a number of developments. Work is underway creating a new retail park on the former Cardinal site a short distance from this planned retirement home. It would be called the Shipley Wharf Retail Park and include a Lidl and Costa.

And the former HMRC building site has been put on the market, and advertised as a potential residential development site.

In 2018 it was announced that Bradford Council would designate the area, along with sites in Bradford and Keighley, as a business development zone where businesses would be supported in setting up or expanding.

It is opposite Victoria Mills, one of the town's biggest mills that has been converted into hundreds of apartments, a gym and a bar/restaurant.

When the care home plan was approved Torison Care said that application would create between 40 and 50 jobs.

A decision on the retirement home application is expected by October.