PLANNERS have asked for more time to decide on a charity's quest to turn a Grade II listed property into a city centre crash pad for under-privileged young people.

The Cinderella Club, one of Bradford's oldest children's charities, bought 16 Chapel Street in Little Germany in the early 1960s and has let it out in the past to raise fund but in November it asked planners to allow it to fully refurbish the building, including a stop-over facility.

Terry Pearson, one of the charity’s four trustees, has now been asked to agree more time for officials to make their mind up.

"Usually it's an eight-week period but I've had an email asking for a time extension because they had not received comments back from the Conservation Officer who we have had on site to discuss the works prior to the application. The planning officer has expressed his concern at what is being proposed," he said.

But added: "There's nothing difficult about it. In my view it's not a chemical plant or anything, we just want to create a positive place for children," said Mr Pearson.

A Bradford Council spokesman said: “As the proposed application relates to a listed building, we are required to consult our internal design and conservation section. We are awaiting a formal consultation response to ensure a full appraisal of the proposal including heritage matters. The normal determination date for the application is 28 December 2017 but the applicant’s agent has agreed to an extension until 5 January 2018.”

The crash-pad would be used by children such as one youngster the organisation recently helped who had been living in rat-infested squalor and contracted leptospirosis.

Bradford Cinderella Club wants the project to provide an environment where one or two children can be taken by youth and care workers to “crash” for one or two nights’ respite from their usual environment to see that life can be better.

They would have beds with clean bedding, clean showers and bathroom facilities, one-on-one care in a calm, fun environment, said Mr Pearson who told the Telegraph & Argus: "We want it to be a stop-over experience the young people will remember for the rest of their life, give them something to aim for.

"We’d like to think we have changed with the times over the past 127 years and that so has the way we deliver what is needed to meet the needs of some of Bradford’s most under-privileged young people. It’s going to be a massive investment but we hope it will be one that will keep on giving for 20, 30, 40, 50 years from now.”

The youngsters would be supervised and cared for at the mid-terraced property by youth workers funded by the charity.

Plans also include disabled access and a passenger lift and the ground floor will provide an office and facilities for the running of the charity and the basement will be used for general storage and double up as a games area.

The property would also have to be be insulated, rewired and re-plumbed with a new heating and hot water system.

The next Bradford planning meeting is on January 17.