A NEW lease of life is being given to an historic West Yorkshire mill.

Homebuilder CALA Homes (Yorkshire) Ltd has started work at the former Batley Carr Mill at Bradford Road to convert the site into a residential development of 208 homes.

The development will comprise a mix of studios, one and two bedroomed refurbishments of existing mill buildings, 80 new-build flats and a courtyard of townhouses.

The site used to house a textile mill that manufactured high-class fashionable fabrics for home and export markets.

Developers have studied the history of the mill and have come up with the name 1767. This was the date locals believe clothier Joshua Ellis started trading on the site, founding one of the most prolific woollen mills in the county that employed more than 300 at its peak.

Gary Hardy, managing director at CALA Homes in Yorkshire, said: "Our 1767 development gives us a real opportunity to save parts of the Batley Carr Mill that are of local and historical significance and provide them with a sustainable, long-term new use.

"The mill mile is an integral part of Dewsbury's industrial heritage.

"I am delighted that we'll be able to retain many internal features along with external characters such as the chimney, the bell, the original mill house and some of the early weaving shops.

"In particular, the war memorial dedicated to those employees who lost their lives in the Great War will be saved."