Flats plan raises concerns over housing standards

Concerns were raised about Bradford's housing standards during a meeting to approve new flats.

Bradford councillor Jeanette Sunderland said many new developments in the district seemed to be for small flats, during a recent meeting to approve plans to turn a two-bed flat above a shop on Barkerend Road into two one-bed flats.

Planning officers acknowledged that the council did receive many applications for small flats - but as long as they met legal space standards, there was little the authority could do to refuse them.

Ms Sunderland said it felt like Bradford was "in a race to the bottom in terms of housing and how we expect people to live".

"There are clearly a lot of concerns in the neighbourhood over increasing density and housing standards," she said.

Planning officer Andrew Moxon said the flats would "meet the minimum space standards".

"But we expect some developers only aim for the minimum. That being the case, these flats do comply with policy," he said.

The application to convert the upper floors was approved with only two members voting against it.

The end-terrace property has an optician operating on the ground floor, and a two-bed flat above.

The new application, by N Ashraf, would create two flats, each with one bedroom and a shared living/dining/kitchen area. The flats would measure about 39 sq m.

The development would also see the construction of a metal staircase to the rear of the building and the removal of chimneys.

There were 18 letters of objection, raising concerns over issues including extra traffic and a loss of privacy, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

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