A £1 million redevelopment of a run-down city centre block will preserve the character of Bradford's last remaining yard.

Graffiti-daubed Albion Court, off Kirkgate, will benefit from a showpiece new shops block to be built next to it because the plans include improved street lighting, Bradford planning committee heard.

They approved plans to knock down run-down Victorian buildings next to historic Albion Court and build a new block to house a pub and shops.

Work will now start on the development - expected to cost between £1 million and £2 million - in the next few days.

Existing shops like Poundstretcher, Bargain Basement and a travel agency will be relocating.

Today Howard Smith, of FJ Architects, said three new retail tenants were provisionally booked to take space in the new building and hoped to be in by next Christmas.

In addition, the developers were in negotiations with a pub chain who wanted to take over the basement area. The old block resembled 'a rabbit warren' inside and the new one will provide much better access for disabled people, councillors were told.

A report from planning officers describes Albion Court as "quite interesting, being the last remaining historic enclosed yard in the city centre."

But the meeting heard that the area had become run down and was used as a public toilet.

The new plans will not harm the historic nature of Albion Court, say planners, but a knock-on effect will be that the area will benefit from improved lighting.

The architects' designs have been altered to ensure that the Queensgate facade retains a period feel, with the front of the buildings being repointed and the shopfronts replaced.

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