Councillors approve demolition of former Tyrls police station
THE remaining half of the old Tyrls police station is set to be demolished after council planners approved proposals for a new office development in City Park.
It is now set to make way for three new office blocks, of between three and five storeys.
The proposed offices, the outline section of the planning application, will have an unusual stepped design with multiple roof terraces offering views over City Park.
Bradford Council, which bought the former police station for the peppercorn price of £1 from the Homes and Communities Agency, wants to clear the site to replace it with new Grade A office space.
The full part of the application is for the landscaping of the part of the site occupied by the former police station.
This plan has been put forward so the land is still in use and not left vacant after its demolition.
It will rely on private investors to build the office blocks themselves.
The application has now been approved, subject to conditions outlined in the technical report. These included the development work must begin within the next three years.
No development shall start until full details of the proposed means of disposal of foul and surface water drainage have been submitted to the Council.
The area is billed as a key regeneration site in Bradford city centre.
Funding for the demolition work would come from the regional growth fund.
It was not revealed at the meeting when the demolition work would be carried out.
Plans revealed in September showed the office blocks will be called One City Park, Two City Park and Three City Park respectively.
It will offer 93,000 sq ft of grade A office space, enough to house 700 employees.
It also includes a new pedestrian route linking City Park and the National Media Museum.
Speaking at yesterday’s meeting, Councillor Jackie Whiteley (Con, Wharfedale) raised concerns that the site would lose a group of trees located at the back of the building.
She said: “We want to keep it as a nice place to visit and not just for office blocks.”
Councillor Malcolm Sykes (Con, Thornton and Allerton) also questioned the disruption to near-by roads during the subsequent demolition work.
The Tyrls police station was built in the 1970s but has been empty since 2007.
Half of it was demolished in 2010 to make way for the City Park development.
The basement of the building is used as cells for Bradford and KeighleyMagistrates’ Court next door, but the construction of the replacement cells is taking place behind the court.
The report to the committee said: “The proposed development could provide a focal point when travelling into the city, from Manchester Road and Hall Ings which is welcomed.
“Additionally, the office buildings would provide a formal backdrop, strengthening the setting of City Park.”
The plans were unanimously approved at Bradford Council’s regulatory and appeals committee meeting today.