Caravans could be transformed into escape rooms

Several caravans that were placed by a major road in Bradford earlier this year could be transformed into an escape room business, according to new plans.

Bradford Council confirmed in February that it had begun an enforcement investigation into the portable buildings at the car park on Thornton Road after it found no planning permission had been granted.

A retrospective application has since been submitted for the development, with plans for an escape room - where people are locked inside and try to escape by following clues, solving riddles and completing challenges - for up to 18 players.

The site would be operated by Time Trapped, an escape room business with another site in Hustlergate.

The application, submitted by Aamir Nasir, said the proposed leisure facility would be made up of four portable cabins and would create two full-time and two part-time jobs.

Documents stated that Time Trapped had "an established trading history within Bradford and has previously expanded with support linked to Bradford Council's City Centre Growth Scheme".

"The business forms part of a wider pattern of investment in leisure and commercial activity within the district and has an existing local customer base," the documents added.

"The current proposal relates to the continued growth of that existing business through the use of this site as a further escape room facility."

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, since the caravans first appeared on the car park of the former portable building showroom, wood panels with spaces for windows and doors had been fitted to them, and a separate planning application for signage had also been submitted.

The application outlining the escape room plan stated that work had begun on the siting of new portable cabins, and external cladding was being installed to the new structures.

It said: "Overall, the proposal provides a clear and functional arrangement for the reuse of the site, reflecting its established commercial character while bringing vacant land back into active use.

"The development supports an established local business, retains an acceptable level of parking and cycle provision, and does not give rise to unacceptable impacts in visual, heritage, access or amenity terms."

A decision on the application is expected to be made by Bradford councillors in June.

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