BRADFORD Council has scrapped plans to install accessible toilets near a popular Keighley museum – after its own conservation officer said the proposals presented a potential fire risk.

The council lodged a planning application at the start of the year to create a Changing Places toilet in a pre-fabricated building adjacent to Cliffe Castle Museum, in Spring Gardens Lane.

But conservation officer Jon Ackroyd – a Bradford Council employee – said the planned structure posed a possible fire risk with the potential to damage the Grade II-listed museum building, which dates back to the 1870s.

He also said the proposed structure would "appear notably incongruous" next to the historic building.

Changing Places toilets are designed for profoundly disabled people, and include washing and changing facilities.

In a letter to the council, Mr Ackroyd said: "A pre-fabricated building is proposed to accommodate enhanced accessible toilets and changing facilities.

"The supporting statement does not identify why the facilities cannot be accommodated within the existing building. There are areas of the ground floor which have undergone past alterations and are not of high heritage significance in terms of layout and finish.

"The proposed structure would stand adjacent to the listed building.

"It is a rectangular box with timber framing and a composite cladding finish. White uPVC is proposed for fascias, gutters and downpipes.

"The colour and appearance of the structure would result in an incongruous presence next to the listed building.

"No information is provided as to why this is the preferred location, and what other less intrusive locations have been considered. It would appear that siting such a structure in the car park would have a far less visual impact but still provide the same benefits.

"The construction and materials of the structure could present a fire risk which, located close to the museum, could threaten or damage the building.

"The proposed structure also presents concerns for anti-social behaviour. The flat roof presents an easy surface to climb upon."

Bradford Council has now withdrawn the application, but it declined to comment further when contacted by the press.

Last year, the council submitted an application to install a Changing Places toilet next to Cartwright Hall Art Gallery in Lister Park.

But Mr Ackroyd raised serious concerns about that proposal, going as far as saying it could cause "real security concerns".

The authority withdrew that application, saying it would look for an "alternative location".