KING Charles III, the self-confessed “interferer and meddler”, once helped a Bradford regeneration get off the ground.
As reports suggest the new King appears to have admitted he will take a step back from campaigning on issues now he is head of state, we take a look at a key Bradford project he had a keen interest in.
In 2008, the prince is said to have declared frankly, referring to his involvement in a restoration project in Bradford: “Being an inveterate interferer and meddler I couldn’t possibly stand back and do nothing.”
He was at Eastbrook Hall in Bradford’s Little Germany to officially declare the £12m scheme open.
His visit was the final piece to what was described at the city's biggest-ever jigsaw. It took years of painstaking workmanship and millions of pounds to restore the once derelict building.
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Last time the then Prince visited Little Germany in 2001 many of its buildings were rundown and disused, and the Grade II listed hall was in a derelict state.
As president of The Prince's Regeneration Trust, Prince Charles had encouraged his charity to get involved in the area's regeneration.
Upon his return in 2008, he saw for himself just what had been achieved - the restoration involved converting the former Methodist Cathedral of the North into 73 apartments and three commercial units.
At the time The Prince's Regeneration Trust, said: "His Royal Highness is a passionate proponent of the effective regeneration of redundant and underused heritage sites and his visit demonstrates his unfailing support for this kind of project.”
In addition, in 2005 the Telegraph & Argus reported that a partnership of Regen 2000, Yorkshire Forward, Bradford Centre Regeneration, Bradford Council, English Partnerships and Prince Charles Phoenix Trust was funding the £8.5 million restoration of Eastbrook Hall.
Earlier in 2002, the T&A detailed how national planning charity the Phoenix Trust – part of the Prince’s Trust – had stepped in to examine the future of Eastbrook Hall, as planning consent for a multi-million pound office and housing scheme at Eastbrook Hall had run out.
The once-grand building, which opened in 1825, had been described as a blot on the landscape at the edge of historic Little Germany, the revival of which was spearheaded by the area’s designation as an urban village under a scheme supported by the Prince of Wales.
The Phoenix Trust then worked with the hall's owners and the Little Germany Urban Village Company to determine the best way forward for the problematic landmark.
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