COUNCIL bosses have agreed to purchase a plot of land after a lengthy search was unable to find the owner.

An area of vacant land on Wealdhere Street at Bolton Woods will be secured by Bradford Council through a compulsory purchase order – a measure councils can use to force the sale of property.

The Council says the land will become part of the New Bolton Woods development, and between 10 and 12 homes would be built on the long empty site.

The New Bolton Woods development was proposed in 2012, and is a major regeneration project that will ultimately include 1,000 homes.

Two phases have already been completed - 200 houses and an Aldi store and Costa Coffee off Stanley Road.

The order was discussed at a meeting of Bradford Council’s Executive on Tuesday. A report to the meeting described the land as “redundant and unproductive.”

It says: “The Wealdheare Street site is not recorded at HM Land Registry and appropriate efforts have been taken to search for, trace and contact the owner of the site without success.

“As a result, there is little or no prospect of acquiring the Wealdheare Street site by private treaty for development purposes and the only way to acquire the site is to resort to the use of CPO powers whilst at the same time continuing to identify who may have an interest in the site.”

New Bolton Woods is being delivered by Canal Road Urban Village Ltd – a Joint Venture Company that is a partnership between the Council and Urbo Regeneration Ltd.

The land will be transferred to CRUVL once purchased by the Council.

Simon Woodhurst, Regeneration Development Manager on the Council, said around 350 new homes would be built at New Bolton Woods over the next five years, and CRUVL was looking at other sites in the area where homes could be built. He said: “This land has been unused for at least 20 years. It is relatively small, 10 or 12 homes could be built on the site, but they would be new homes in an area of high demand.”

Councillor Alex Ross Shaw, Executive for Regeneration, Planning and Transport, said: “Relative to the rest of New Bolton Woods the site is small, but it is one that could make a big difference to that community. New Bolton Woods is a vital regeneration programme for the Council, so it is good to see it taking shape.”