A MANNINGHAM building that was left derelict for over a decade is now being refurbished and transformed into a cafe.
Work is underway to refurbish 28 Cunliffe Road, a building in the St Paul’s Conservation Area that had been left to rot since 2008.
Earlier this year Bradford Council obtained the powers to move forward with a compulsory purchase order for the crumbling building – which would allow the authority to force the owner to sell the property.
But before the CPO was issued the owner sold the building.
A planning application, submitted by H. Kausar, to turn the former shop into a cafe was submitted this summer, and the application has now been approved.
Work to repair the building is well underway.
Long empty shop on Thornton Road could finally be brought back into use
The planning application said the cafe would “bring new customers to the area and regenerate growth within this area in the current economic climate.”
%image(‘10399229′, type=”article-full”, alt=”The building on Cunliffe Road in its current state”)
Approving the new business planning officers said: “The occupation of the building will improve the character of the area and enable the dilapidated building to be put into use.”
A Bradford Council spokesperson explained what had been done to try to bring the building back into use. They said: “The Council uses compulsory purchase orders as a last resort after attempting to work with owners to bring unoccupied properties back into use.
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“This property had been left empty since 2008 and was a blight on the local neighbourhood.
“Having offered the owners all the support and advice possible, the Council decided in 2018 to use a CPO in this way.
%image(‘10399230’, type=”article-full”, alt=”28 Cunliffe Road as it appeared a few months ago”)
“The Council successfully obtained an Order in April and received no objections, however, around the same time, the property was sold.
“We have discussed the situation with the new owners and have agreed we would postpone taking possession whilst they worked on their plans for the property.
“We are delighted the new owners are now planning to restore the building.
“The CPO remains in place, however, we will only take possession if the property isn’t brought back into use.
“Empty buildings are a wasted resource dragging down property values and attracting antisocial behaviour so we will continue to do everything we can to bring them back into use.”
