Questions over future of Bradford site which could form part of tram route

Options for the future of a planned redevelopment site will be reviewed after it was revealed a section of the land has been “safeguarded” for the Bradford to Leeds tram route.

The Parry Lane Enterprise Zone, in the Bowling Back Lane area, was due to be one of the biggest regeneration schemes in West Yorkshire.

It was earmarked for a £19m development industrial units that would bring almost 500 jobs to the area.

When the plans were first proposed, it was hoped the development would be completed by 2025.

Although £8.8m has been spent on clearing the site, it currently remains vacant.

Now it has emerged that the land has been sold to West Yorkshire Combined Authority – which will “assess options” for its future.

But the authority told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that a section of the land will be safeguarded for the West Yorkshire Mass Transit route.

Parry Lane was one of nine Enterprise Zones first proposed by WYCA a decade ago.

The programme’s aim was to take vacant areas of land that were in prime locations, but had attracted little investment, and make them more attractive to potential developers.

The Parry Lane site was the former home of Yorkshire Energy, but had been vacant for years before it was suggested as an Enterprise Zone.

WYCA would invest around £8m in remediating the site – clearing it and creating new infrastructure in and around the land – before private investors would complete the development.

In 2020, plans for 25,000 square metres of employment space across ten industrial units on the site was approved.

In 2023, it emerged that Bradford Council, which owned the land, was in the process of selling it to a private developer.

The site has been remediated and new access roads created, but there has been little progress since this work was completed.

However, the site was referenced in the early plans for a new tram line between Bradford and Leeds.

One possible route would pass through the Bowling Back Lane area, with a possible stop at Parry Lane.

WYCA has now purchased the Parry Lane site at the request of its Mass Transit team.

It was purchased from a company called Eden Assets.

The LDRS had noticed that WYCA bosses had made a decision on the site late last year, but documents had little information as to what that decision was.

We asked Bradford Council and WYCA for more information.

A Bradford Council spokesperson said: “During 2020/2021 WYCA managed the Parry Lane site remediation scheme with funding through the Enterprise Zone programme – the £8.8m stated in the decision note.

“To enable WYCA to undertake this work an agreement was entered into between the Council and WYCA.

“The agreement contained an option in favour of WYCA to purchase the site following completion of the remediation. The decision to trigger this option was made by WYCA last year and sale of the site was completed on Friday March 6.”

A West Yorkshire Combined Authority spokesperson said: “As of March this year the Combined Authority is the new owner of the land at Parry Lane, following the successful completion of an £8.8 million remediation of the site.

“Options will now be assessed in the proper way to determine the future use of the land, some of which remains safeguarded for Mass Transit.

“Further details will be made available to the public and to members of the Combined Authority at its next full meeting.”

That meeting is expected to take place in June.

When the Parry Lane scheme was first announced, a WYCA report said developing the site is “anticipated to deliver up to 16,900 sqm of commercial floorspace, capable of accommodating 489 jobs, generating up to £166 million GVA (gross value added), and a potential business rates income of approximately £5.3 million over the period to 2042.

“The scheme supports inclusive growth by developing land to unlock employment opportunities for residents across West Yorkshire and the City Region.

“Additionally, the scheme supports the regeneration of a deprived area, enhancing the local working environment.”

A similar enterprise zone off Gain Lane was completed several years ago, and is home to businesses including the headquarters for cleaning products firm Astonish and Optimum Medical.