Plans underway for series of events at Darley Street Market

The market is due to open next May and at a meeting this week, Councillors were told that the market team would be in talks with different groups to ensure the venue hosts a series of events – including some to tie in with Bradford’s City of Culture year.

The £23m development will replace the city centre’s existing two markets – Oastler and Kirkgate, once it opens.

Those two markets will be demolished as part of the City Village scheme to develop new homes in the city centre.

Darley Street Market is being built on the former Marks & Spencer site and will have three floors of stalls – a non-food floor, one with stalls selling fresh food, and a food court serving street food. It will be home to at least one bar.

In front of the building will be a new City Square with space for outdoor stalls. It will have a large digital screen to screen events, and a section of the former Kirkgate Market gate will be fitted in the square.

Members of Bradford Council’s Regeneration and Environment Scrutiny Committee were given an update on the scheme on Tuesday evening.

The report to the committee gave details on the take up of the stalls in the market.

It said 43 businesses that represent 54 of the 63 stalls or units on Level 0 and 1 (non-food and fresh food) have received and accepted their provisional offers.

- 28 businesses have been placed on a reserve list should any of the selected traders withdraw.

- 18 businesses had applications rejected for being unsuitable or submitted a poor application.

- 12 businesses have withdrawn their application.

The Council is in the process of appointing an operator for the food court, and this operator will then help decide which businesses will get a place on the market’s top floor.

An artist's impression of the planned food court

Colin Wolstenholme, markets manager for the Council, said many traders from the existing two markets would be making the move, but added: “We didn’t want it to be the case that just because you have traded with us that you are automatically given a stall.

“You have to earn it to get a stall in Darley Street Market – it has to be a quality application.

“The danger was we’d be including businesses that aren’t going to help the market develop the way we’d like.”

The committee was told that traders would be on a three-year lease.

Mr Wolstenholme added: “If there are traders that are not performing, we may find traders to replace them after that time. It is important they realise they won’t have a lease for life.”

He detailed some of the reasons for the delay to the scheme.

 “The Ukraine war had implications," he said. 

"The timber we were going to use was going to come from Siberia. When the war started this had to be changed, and it was instead sourced from Scandinavia.”

He said there had been discussions with the owners of the buildings on either side of the market. Both are planning to refurbish their buildings and find new tenants in time for the market opening.

He added: “I know some market traders are looking for bigger spaces. We’re talking with the owners of these buildings to see if they could move there.”

Mr Wolstenholme expects the different floors will appeal to different customers, with the non-food floor likely to appeal more to existing market shoppers and the food court attracting a “younger audience” who may rarely visit Oastler or Kirkgate Markets.

The top floor will likely be open until 10pm and feature at least one bar serving alcohol. The aim is for another bar to serve mocktails.

The outdoor square will host evening markets and public events, and plans are being drawn up for a series of events to mark the market’s opening.

Meetings will soon be held with the team running Bradford’s City of Culture year and the Business Improvement District board to discuss how the square and market space can be best used for such events.

Mr Wolstenholme said the aim was for an ongoing programme, adding: “We don’t want a big bang when we open then nothing.”

He said the shops that had been demolished to make way for the market had their “backs turned” to Piccadilly, giving the once thriving Victorian street a back alley feel.

The new market would have a frontage on both Darley Street and Piccadilly, and Mr Wolstenholme added: “Hopefully this market will help encourage the future regeneration of Piccadilly.”