Plans to refurbish eyesore city centre building are revealed

A warehouse at the former Providence Mill site in the Goitside area of Bradford has been derelict for well over a decade, with a collapsed roof and missing windows.

But now a planning application to refurbish the building, creating a large retail space and offices, has been submitted to Bradford Council.

It says the property is “desperately in need of repair” and that the new plans are “exciting and stimulating” for the area.

The property is on Vincent Street, off Sunbridge Road, in the heart of the Goitside Conservation Area.

The four storey section of the warehouse building (Image: newsquest)

It is made up of a large ground floor warehouse space with a smaller four storey section.

The application, by a Mr Yousuf, says the ground floor space will be used for retail, with the four storey section converted to office space.

Few details of any end users are included in the application, but it does say the development will lead to the creation of 10 full time jobs.

Much of the Provident Mills site was wrecked by fire in June 2013 – with sections of the already derelict mill pulled down for safety reasons shortly after.

When the Telegraph & Argus visited the site last week, a roller shutter over one of the warehouse’s entrances was not fully closed – and numerous bin bags full of waste had been dumped on the grounds.

The derelict building in the Goitside Conservation Area (Image: newsquest)

The planning application says: “The brief is to keep the internal arrangement of the existing property and externally improve the façade to bring the building back to use.

“It is felt that the change of use and changes to front elevation will tie seamlessly with others in the area and would positively enhance the current street scene.

“The design process has been through a thorough, rigorous process of critical analysis and has discussed a host of factors and parameters.

“With the present economic climate and with the property desperately in need of repair, it is felt that the new proposal would benefit the local community through job creation and an offer of more closely located local services – giving an added vibrancy to the area.

“We trust, based on the above, that the proposal will be deemed as exciting and stimulating for the local and wider community and can be supported by the Local Planning Authority.”

A decision on the application is expected in March.