A CAKE company plans to extend its Manningham food production facility, in a move that will create 15 jobs.

Cake Box has a base on Thorncliffe Road, off Manningham Lane and the company recently purchased the neighbouring site – which was home to a fire-damaged warehouse.

That warehouse has since been demolished, and now plans to build new warehouse space on the site have been submitted to Bradford Council.

The company says the work will allow it to “expand its facilities within the north of England”. 

The new two-storey building will include storage space on the ground floor and office space on its mezzanine.

The company has shops on Leeds Road, Duckworth Lane and at The Broadway, and has opened numerous new stores across the country in recent years.

The site of the planning application was the former Adams Fast Food Supplies building, and is a short distance from Bradford City’s Valley Parade grounds.

The site was badly damaged by a fierce blaze in 2021, with the cause deemed as being a faulty electrical appliance.

The fire-ravaged building remained on the site until late last year when Bradford Council granted consent for its demolition ahead of a proposed redevelopment.

Now it has emerged that the site has been taken on by Cake Box, and it forms a key part of its Bradford expansion.

The company says the work will be “a significant capital investment in the area to secure the long-term future from an established company that is looking to expand its operation”.

The planning application says: “Cake Box are an established business that is looking to expand its facilities within the north of England.

“The original buildings were first-generation industrial shed construction that were at the end of their useful life.

“The site was the subject of fire damage approximately four years ago which destroyed the rear of the site and caused severe damage to the central area.

“The buildings had been vacant since the fire and were in an extremely poor state of repair and rife with vermin.

“Demolition was undertaken shortly after the site’s purchase and the receipt of planning approval to commence the environmental improvements.

“The ground floor of the new unit will provide bulk storage and refrigeration and freezer facilities. The mezzanine level will incorporate new staff accommodation and training facilities together with additional storage accommodation.”

The warehouse extension will include a seven-space car park as well as a cycle parking area.

A decision on the planning application is expected in May.