Multi-million pound projects and changing street scenes are breathing new life into Bradford city centre over the coming months.
Developers and organisations behind the much-anticipated transformations – including Bradford Council – have shared promises of boosting footfall, attracting foreign students, and introducing more greenery and parks.
Others revealed hopes of ‘enhancing the character’ of Bradford’s historic buildings and inviting more businesses to the city and district.
These are just some of the exciting projects taking place in Bradford city centre, marking a new chapter in the city’s landscape.
Changes to Primark and Kirkgate Shopping Centre for 'City Village' concept
Bradford Council has purchased the Kirkgate Shopping Centre for £15.5 million - the local authority's latest move to reshape the city centre.
Bradford's Primark store will move to The Broadway shopping centre, becoming the new anchor tenant.
The Kirkgate Centre will ultimately be closed and redeveloped as part of the wider 'City Village' concept currently being developed by the Council.
Read more on this:
- Kirkgate Shopping Centre to be demolished as part of major city centre changes
- Bradford's Primark branch moving to The Broadway
One City Park
A new five-storey Grade A office space featuring a roof terrace is coming to City Park, next to Bradford Magistrates and the Mirror Pool.
It is expected to bring 450 jobs to the building once fully occupied, as well as around 300 temporary construction jobs.
The most recent public estimate for the cost of the scheme is £35 million, with some of the money coming from the Government's Getting Building Fund.
Bradford Council said the city is in desperate need of Grade A office space – with existing vacant office space not being attractive enough to major businesses.
One City Park will be found on the site of the former Tyrls Police Station, demolished between 2010 and 2015 in order to create a new business district.
Some critics have questioned whether such a large investment in office space was wise at a time many businesses were downsizing.
Darley Street Market
The former Marks & Spencer building in the city centre is set to be transformed into the new Darley Street Market.
The three floor building will include non food stalls on the ground floor, a fresh food floor on the upper ground floor, and a hot food food court on the upper floor, with seating for 530 people.
The food court, which has space for 13 vendors, will open until the evening, with the hope of kickstarting the night time economy.
It will also have a stage for music and entertainment and an outdoor viewing balcony.
Work began on-site in March this year and is continuing ahead of the market’s expected opening date in Summer 2023.
The new market was proposed as a way of boosting Darley Street, which has suffered from store closures and empty units since the Broadway Shopping Centre opened six years ago.
Oastler Market to be demolished
Once the new Darley Street Market opens Bradford Council plans to flatten Oastler Market. The site will then become a new residential area.
In the coming years this area of Bradford will be part of a planned 'City Village'.
'Luxurious' on-campus accomodation in Bradford
The conversion of Grade II listed Old Building on Great Horton Road will create the “most luxurious on-campus accommodation anywhere in the world”, developers claim.
The building dates back to the 1830s and was part of Bradford College.
Although the development will not be student-only accommodation, the developer behind the scheme believes the location means it will be popular with foreign students.
Aurangzeb Iqbal, of Citywide Developments, said: “We deliberately went for one, two and three bed apartments. Foreign students often have a lot of money, and their families want them to have a fantastic experience while they are studying.
“We want them to go back and tell people ‘You’ve got to go to Bradford.’”
Bradford Live
A multi-million pound project is transforming Bradford’s iconic Odeon theatre into a 3,800-capacity live music venue.
Bradford Live, expected to open in autumn 2023, is one of the biggest regeneration schemes in the city’s recent history.
New bar areas will be brought to the Tea Room Turret and the Ballroom Turret as well as an art deco style 'cabaret' bar and a further large bar on the ground floor crescent.
The Bradford Live project was one of the venues in the district on the itinerary for the City of Culture 2025 judges.
Mr Craven said he was delighted with Bradford’s win, saying it was something the city “needed and deserved”.
He said: "This is a good example, I think, of the city not just hanging around waiting for somebody to throw it a few crumbs. It's actually investing in its future.
"I think that helped to swing it - the fact that the city was already investing - wasn't just assuming things would fall its way, we're going to build our way, invest our way out."
Work to transform Bradford's Top of Town
A £2million scheme will bring a new pocket park, tree planting and temporary traffic free measures on North Parade to the top of Bradford city centre.
Work will take place on North Parade, Rawson Square and Northgate, with the pocket park being created in the area known as Oastler Square.
Natural stone paving will be laid to enhance the character of the historic buildings in this part of the city – a Conservation area.
The pavements will be widened to create more space for pedestrians, although parking will still be allowed on North Parade.
The pocket park will be based in the area around the statue of Richard Oastler in Oastler Square.
There will be new cycle storage facilities and new collapsible bollards to allow temporary pedestalisation of North Parade for events such as the annual North Parade street party.
Funding for the Top of Town improvements was secured from the National Lottery Heritage Fund as part of the Bradford City Centre Townscape Heritage Scheme, and from the European Structural and Investment Funds Growth Programme which is administered by the European Regional Development Fund.
High Point
Work is well underway to redesign one of Bradford’s most polarising buildings into a multi million pound new residential development.
When it was constructed in the 1970s, High Point - headquarters of the Huddersfield and Bradford Building Society, was one of Bradford’s most expensive building projects, costing £1.4m - around £18m in today’s money.
After standing empty for over 25 years, the Westgate building is now part of an £11m development that will see the building converted into 87 one and two bedroom apartments.
Transforming Cities Fund: Bradford Interchange, park and ride, cycle superhighway and more
The Transforming Cities Fund is a multi-million-pound pot of cash given by Government to West Yorkshire as part of the local devolution deal.
Bradford will get an £80million share of the funding for the four schemes.
The four schemes that make up the Transforming Cities Fund are:
- the Bradford City Centre Walking and Cycling improvements, which includes the pedestrianisation of Hall Ings and streets like Market Street
- the South Bradford Park and Ride and Expressway
- the creation of a new entrance to Bradford Interchange
- the West Bradford Cycle Superhighway – a segregated cycleway between the city centre and Thornton.
Read more: £2.8m awarded to active travel measures in Bradford
Public transport corridor in Well Street
A “quiet” section of the city centre will be one of the areas to benefit from a multi-million-pound project.
Well Street separates the Broadway Shopping Centre from historic Little Germany, and is currently pedestrianised.
But from April, work will start to turn the street into a “public transport corridor” – the new route many buses will take through the centre.
It is part of Bradford’s Transforming Cities Fund works.
Work to open up Well Street will begin in April 2023 and last for nine months.
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