A NEW retirement home can be built in a town centre – but there are concerns that a new library that was meant to be built alongside the development may be scrapped.

On Thursday morning a planning panel approved an application by McCarthy Stone to build 47 retirement flats on the former Ian Clough Hall site in the centre of Baildon.

The hall, which included the town library, was demolished last year – with owners Bradford Council selling the site for development.

When the work was announced, the Council revealed plans to open a new library in the neighbouring Baildon Club building, which the local authority had purchased.

The library was temporarily moved to a former shop unit until work on the new library was completed.

But with Bradford Council facing a huge budget gap, the new Baildon Library is one of the schemes that has been put on hold.

At a meeting of the Council’s Regulatory and Appeals Committee on Thursday, local politicians said while the McCarthy Stone development had its benefits, there were also questions over whether the town would miss out on the new library promised when the site was sold.

A report to members revealed that 270 people had objected to the plans, with concerns ranging from claims that the new building would be an over development of the site, that it would block the views of nearby St John’s Church and could devalue other properties.

There were also objections over traffic and a lack of affordable housing within the development.

McCarthy Stone has proposed 26 parking spaces for the site – and some objectors questioned whether this was enough for a 46-apartment development.

Others pointed out that although a section of the site’s public car park would remain, leaving 56 parking spaces, the other section of the car park would be lost to the development.

Members were told that the average age of residents at McCarthy Stone developments was 78, and this meant it was unlikely every apartment would require a parking space.

The central location also meant that residents would be less reliant on cars to get around.

When asked about surrounding facilities such as GP spaces, officers said existing services would “adapt” to meet the new demand.

Highways officer John Rowley said visitors would be able to park in the public car park if the retirement home car park was full. He added: “Residents are aware when they buy a place like this that there will be limited spaces.”

Councillor Matt Edwards (Green, Tong) questioned the lack of affordable housing on the site. Officers said the company had shown date that confirmed providing affordable housing would make the scheme unviable.

Councillor Debbie Davies (Cons, Baildon) said: “The 46 dwellings will go some way to meeting the need for retirement housing, and I’d rather it be built on brownfield than greenfield. I also recognise we have an ageing population in Baildon.”

Ian Clough Hall before it was demolishedIan Clough Hall before it was demolished (Image: T&A)

She pointed out the loss of public parking spaces, and fearing this could put pressure on neighbouring streets, she urged the Council to look into the matter “urgently.”

Councillor Allison Coates (Cons, Baildon) said: “I’m supportive of plans for this site. They are a reputable company, and I believe the consultation process has been a robust one.

“It will be good for the local economy as the new residents are likely to shop local.

“It will free up much needed larger family homes as the older demographic decide to downsize.

“The main issue I have is the displaced parking.”

She said people living in nearby homes could find themselves unable to park outside their house. Mr Rowley said: “The public don’t have an automatic right to park on the highway. People do park outside their own homes, but it is not automatic that they have the right to do that.”

He said if it proved an issue, the Council could look at residents’ parking permits.

Baildon Town Council had been located at Ian Clough Hall, and was due to move into the new library until the plans were put on hold.

Councillor Gill Dixon of the Town Council said there had been an agreement with Bradford Council that the library would be replaced if Ian Clough Hall was sold. She said: “There is an obligation to Baildon to complete this exciting project – it would be a groundbreaking space that could be used for City of Culture.”

Referring to the loss of parking spaces – and the claim that people could use other means of transport, Cllr Dixon said: “There are not many people in Baildon who can walk, let alone cycle up the hill. There are probably only six people in Baildon fit enough to do that.”

Planning officers pointed out that the issue of whether the new library would ever be developed was beyond the remit of the committee.

Cllr Edwards added: “We have to be transparent in the role of us as a planning panel. We have to decide on the application in front of us.”

Chair of the committee Councillor Mohammed Shafiq (Lab, Bradford Moor) added: “Colleagues have talked about the new library – that doesn’t fall within our remit as a committee today.”

Members approved the plans, but altered one of the conditions. Initially planners had said the permission should allow construction on Saturdays from 7.30am to 1pm. Members voted to change this to noon to 5.30pm.

The meeting was told that the development would take around 12 months to complete.

After the meeting Coun Dixon said: “The approval of the planning application by McCarthy Stone is quite a milestone for Baildon. It has both positive and negative aspects. We welcome the significant positive changes through the planning process, such as the use of natural stone to ¾ of the elevations., and a significant lessening of height to maintain the views of the Church, as well as many other features.

“BTC will work closely with Bradford and the developers to try and minimise negative impact through the construction phase. We are pleased that we secured agreement to later Saturday working hours (changed from 7.30/1pm to 12noon/5.30pm) which will lessen the impact on the shops, market and local residents. Although the loss of car parking is a negative, shops and restaurants can anticipate greater trade as all the evidence is that those who live in retirement accommodation overwhelmingly shop local.

“This is a high quality development in the heart of Baildon, and the 46 apartments being built on a brownfield site will count towards the new housing requirement for Baildon – so less need to go into green belt sites.

“We look forward to a positive working relationship with McCarthy Stone over the years to come.”