Land that was supposed to be preserved as open space was bought for just £1 by a developer who is planning to build an office block.

Property boss Bal Khela has got the green light to build two-storey offices on grass that residents say should be part of a protected 'buffer zone' around an upmarket housing estate in Bradley, Huddersfield.

The plot in question used to be the road linking the Woodland Glade estate to Bradley Road.

It was blocked off after the houses and Bradley Business Park were built in the 1990s and early 2000s.

The small grassed area has a footpath to link the estate to Bradley - used by pupils at All Saints Catholic College - and also features a cycle path.

But it is set to be built on despite the council originally saying it should be protected from development.

Mr Khela bought the land from Kirklees Council in 2010 but his attempts to get permission to build were twice refused by council officials.

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The council had inserted restrictions into the sale that limited it solely for use as open space.

But Mr Khela appealed to the Planning Inspectorate and won after maps of the area were not updated to include the tiny area as an official buffer zone for the housing estate.

The drawings for the Unitary Development Plan, Kirklees Council's planning blueprint of the 1990s, show the through road with a buffer zone on each side. They were not updated when the road was stopped up sometime around 2002.

Keith Hunter, from the Woodland Glade management committee, said he was concerned that Kirklees had mismanaged the land.

"How can they possibly get the Local Plan right if they can't manage a small business park in Bradley," said Mr Hunter.

Mr Hunter said he believed the current proposals did not comply with disability discrimination laws as the footpath from Redwood Drive would be built over, forcing pedestrians and wheelchair users into the road.

Local resident Keith Hunter pictured on land next to GC's Cafe, Bradley, proposed site for new offices.

A spokesman for Kirklees Council said: "The plot is next to land already owned by Mr Khela and is very small with a number of restrictions to development, so was transferred for the nominal sum of £1, with a restriction to the use of the land as open space.

"The council refused to grant permission originally because in its opinion the development was too close to residential properties.

"The fact that there was a buffer zone in place as part of the UDP was considered by the planning inspector, but she did not feel that this was sufficient reason to support our case.

"The Unitary Development Plan was published in 1999 and at that time correctly showed the land either side of the road as a buffer zone.

"At that time this was a through road. Since then the road has been stopped up leaving a small parcel of land at the head of the cul-de-sac, which happened sometime after 2002."

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Drawings submitted to Kirklees Council show part of the gardens of GCs cafe will be used to build the offices, which will include six parking spaces.

A dropped kerb on to Longbow Close has already been installed and some hardcore was dumped on the grass in late 2015.

Mr and Mrs Michael Hunter, no relation to Keith, who live nearby, said it was ludicrous that more offices could be built there when others on the estate had been empty for years.

Mr Hunter said: "We couldn't believe it when we heard; we thought it was silly developing when there's so much empty space. It will block our view off completely."

The Examiner approached Mr Khela for comment but he did not respond.