Failed school bid mill put back on the market

An empty mill building in Bradford that was proposed as the site for a new school for children with special educational needs and disabilities has been put back on the market.

Pivot Academy, which runs two schools in West Yorkshire, applied for planning permission to convert Cumberland House on Cemetery Road into a 250-pupil independent school in 2025.

But the plans were rejected by Bradford Council due to fears there would not be enough parking or drop-off space for the size of the school.

The building has now been put on the market with a guide price of £650,000.

The property is described as a "substantial four storey mill building" with 2,391 sqm of internal space in the listing on the website for Skipton-based estate agents Mark Brearley & Co.

Cumberland House was once part of a sprawling development of Victorian mill buildings and mill workers' homes.

It was later converted into office space, but has been empty since 2023, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

The most recent planning application submitted to Bradford Council for the site said it offered "important reminders of the city's industrial past and its contribution to the Industrial Revolution".

"It is therefore important that sustainable uses for these structures are approved by the local planning authority to ensure their continued survival," it added.

It also said that any transformation from an office building to a school would require "significant alterations and improvements", but would ultimately provide a "sustainable" use and "secure the future of this historical asset".

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