Ambitious plans costing up to £500,000 to transform the St Ives Estate into a country park have been unveiled.

One hundred acres of land will be released for public use when the development at the Bingley beauty spot goes ahead - and part of it may be used to create a deer park.

Attempts to find a developer for the Grade II-listed farm building Home Farm, in need of a major refurbishment, are now underway because Bradford Council cannot afford to do it itself.

Ideas for the use of the building include: an educational or model farm, craft shops, horse riding facilities and tea rooms.

It was decided that because the tenant farmer at Home Farm has now retired the land should be opened up to the public in the future.

The chairman of the Council's leisure services committee, Barry Thorne, said: "It could end up becoming one of the jewels of the North. If not quite a major tourist attraction, I believe kids from urban areas could come and have a nice day out. There is something in it for everyone and we have had a very good reaction from interested parties who have been most supportive.

"We will market the place and see what bids come in. We have listened very carefully to the views of the local community and it is very clear to us that everyone wants this land to be opened up for public access but we are also concerned there should be no new buildings on the site.

"The current farm is a listed building and we want to keep it and develop it but we cannot afford to do this ourselves. We are therefore looking for a partner from the private sector to work with us to develop the site."

St Ives Estate comprises 550 acres in total. Some of the land is currently being leased by the Sports Turf Institute, the St Ives Golf Club and the Mansion Nursing Home.

An extensive area is already being used as public woodland with Home Farm taking up the remaining 160 acres.

Councillors have agreed to allow 60 acres to the Sports Turf Research Institute to lease extra land to develop their operation; to St Ives Golf Club to lease a small amount of land so they can redesign the layout of their course; and to Harden Cricket Club to buy a small piece of land so they can improve their facilities.

Douglas Archer, chairman of Harden Village Society, one of the groups consulted by the council, said: "It seems good to me as long as there are appropriate safeguards to prevent too much commercialisation."

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