Bradford's 'utopian' Ripleyville estate to be flattened

Ripleyville was designed as an industrial model village

A "utopian" 1970s estate which became "notorious" for drugs, crime and vandalism is to be flattened to make way for new homes.

Plans have been approved to demolish the Ripleyville Estate in Bradford in order to build 73 new properties.

Accent Housing said the existing layout had encouraged crime while the proposed development would create a "more desirable" place to live.

The estate had already been mothballed in preparation for the work.

The new development will consist of one and two bedroom flats and houses with up to five bedrooms.

Last September plans to replace the entire site with modern social housing were submitted by developers

The Ripleyville Estate is on the site of an industrial model village built in the 1860s by philanthropist Henry William Ripley, manager of the Bowling Dyeworks.

Most of the site was demolished in the 1970s under the "Bradford Development Plan".

The current estate is a collection of flats and houses based around courtyards, shared gardens and pathways - constructed to separate pedestrians from cars.

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service the so-called Radburn Design was meant to create vibrant communities and was billed as a "new utopian estate".

However, the design soon fell out of favour due to concerns about crime and the isolation of such developments from surrounding neighbourhoods.

The new 'energy efficient' homes will have electric vehicle charging points