A VILLAGE pub could be demolished and replaced with 30 homes if a new planning application is approved.

The Cross Roads Inn, between Keighley and Haworth, closed about five months ago, and has been marketed for sale since then.

Hopes that it would re-open as a pub were dealt a blow earlier this year, when the building’s owner – Prospect Estates Ltd – revealed that it planned to flatten the pub to make way for a new development.

Details of that proposed development have now been revealed in the form of a planning application to replace the inn with a building made up of 30 one-bed flats.

But the plans will face fierce local opposition - although the application has only just been submitted to Bradford Council, over 150 people have already objected.

Last month, before the plans were submitted, local residents launched a campaign to save the pub and bring it back into community use.

It has been backed by local politicians.

The pub has already been classed as an asset of community value – meaning community groups have a limited period where they can purchase the building before it either goes on the open market or is replaced/demolished/redeveloped.

After the local campaign was launched, a spokesperson for Prospect Estates Ltd said the company "welcomes all enquiries about the premises and will consider any offers that are put forward.”

The planning application describes building 30 homes on the site as an “extremely efficient use of land” and says the work will include an 18-space car park.

The building will be a mix of three and four storeys.

The application adds: “The site is on a main public transport route with bus stops on both Halifax Road and Haworth Road. There are regular services provided to local and wider areas, including Haworth and Keighley. The site is also within convenient walking distance of a range of local shops and services.

“This is a site therefore that is in a sustainable urban area with good access to local services, employment opportunities, and public transport.

“The development proposes an intensive development of the site that would be prominent in the street scene and which would be at a greater scale and massing that many surrounding properties. However, the aim of planning policy is not to simply mimic existing development but to take that development into account in devising new proposals.

“The proposed development would make a positive contribution to the local economy. There would be economic benefits associated with the development, in terms of direct and indirect jobs during the construction period, spending within the construction industry supply chain and spending by future residents in local shops, as well as benefits from council tax payments, Community Infrastructure Levy contributions and the New Homes Bonus.”

A decision on the application is expected in late June.