A NUMBER of prominent city centre buildings have been suggested as a future location for a new museum of Bradford.

Last week Bradford Council published its Museum and Galleries Strategy that set out how the four Council run museums in the district would operate over the next decade.

Although much of the report dealt with the existing attractions, it also revealed that the Council planned to open a new city centre museum before 2032.

It said the four museums would be "joined by a strong city centre presence that introduces Bradford’s story to visitors to the city centre."

It said the Council would "work with partners within and outside the council to identify a location, narrative and funding package to progress this vision as part of our suite of venues."

After the report's publication Bradford Civic Society announced "overwhelming support" for such a museum.

The group polled 150 people to ask which buildings in the city they would like to see host the museum.

The most popular location among members was the former Natwest building on Hustlergate. The Grade II listed building, famed for its elaborate ceiling decoration, has been empty since the bank chain consolidated its city centre sites, and is now based next to the Broadway Shopping Centre.

New museum planned for Bradford city centre

The second most popular suggestion was the former Telegraph & Argus press hall on Hall Ings. The large glass structure has been vacant for years, and the T&A relocated much of its office space to the former West Bowling Golf Club building.

The press hall and T&A building are in the process of being refurbished by its new owners, and there are plans to pedestrianise that stretch of Hall Ings.

Vintry House, a Council owned building on Piccadilly that is currently being used as a construction compound for the Darley Street Market scheme, was another building suggested by multiple members.

Other suggestions included a new building on the former Royal Mail sorting office site at Forster Square, Sunwin House - the former TJ Hughes building, and the former Talbot Hotel on Bank Street - currently home to a number of empty shops.

By far the least popular option was to incorporate a museum inside City Hall, with respondents suggesting it might be too small, and that enough money had already been spent restoring parts of the Grade I listed public building.

City Hall had been the proposed location of the last planned city centre museum - the National Rugby League Museum, until that plan was scrapped in 2020.

National Rugby League Museum will now not be coming to City Hall

Outgoing Chairman of Bradford Civic Society Councillor Si Cunningham (Lab, Bolton and Undercliffe), who also sits on Bradford Council’s Regeneration and Environment Overview and Scrutiny Committee, said: “It’s been very interesting to hear people’s suggestions for where this mooted city centre museum might be.

"Clearly, there is overwhelming support for repurposing one of our grand old buildings rather than creating something from scratch, and I think that would be the best value option too. Bradford has some fantastic museums and galleries, but people are always quick to point out that there isn’t anything centrally that tells the city’s fascinating story. I’d love to see a new city museum, perhaps incorporating a better space for the central library too, which would really support our UK City of Culture ambitions and be a great source of pride for all Bradfordians.”