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The derelict Bradley Nurseries site – where plants were grown for municipal gardens for 150 years – is to be cleared ahead of re-development.
The 4.7-acre site on the Bradley Junction Industrial Estate, off Leeds Road, Bradley, had a huge greenhouse and polytunnels which grew plants for Kirklees Council.
The council closed the nurseries in December 2016 after deciding to buy-in its plants from outside growers in a move said to save taxpayers £169,000 a year.
The council had said it planned to sell the site on the open market but by 2021 nothing had happened and the main greenhouse remained pretty much as it had been when it was abandoned.
At that time there were calls by a former leader of Kirklees Council, Baroness Kath Pinnock, for the council to start ‘growing its own’ again.
She said flowers and floral displays were vital to local parks and people’s feelings of well-being.
The site, however, has since been damaged and has fallen into disrepair and now Kirklees Council has applied for planning permission to demolish the remaining structures.
Clr Peter McBride, Cabinet member for regeneration, said: “The former Bradley Nurseries is being demolished to improve safety on the site and assist in the first steps of preparation for development.
“The future of the site has not yet been decided. However, there are currently a number of options under consideration that support the delivery of council objectives.
“As outline plans progress they will be brought forward through the appropriate decision-making channels.”
The site is not unsafe as Councillor McBride says.,
that’s just poppycock. The Nurseries could be refurbished and up and running in a month. And who wants to develop a site cotaining mine shafts and contaminating chemicals.
Saving £169, 000 is PEANUTS on comparison with £17m spent on Consultants by Kirklees council. Who have shown contempt for Apprentices Horticultural education, whom without greenhouse experience will not be fully conversant in horticulture.
should never have been shut down in the first place £169,000 savings at the beginning but i bet they are paying a lot more for there plants now. Thats how these companies work,offer plants at a saving from what the council can grow them for,then steadily put the prices up every year and before you know it it,s costing a hell of a lot more than the council could have grown them for themselves. Short sighted view from the people in charge as usual.
Exactly . And Apprentices are not getting a full Horticultural education without greenhouse and nursery work.