New look at Bradford's 'oversubscribed' Darley Street Market

Darley Street Market will feature three storeys of market stalls when it opens, as well as a new public square with space for events.

On Tuesday, a group of councillors from across the political spectrum were given a tour of the striking new market, construction of which is now almost complete.

During the tour it was revealed that the market’s food hall will be home to vendors serving Greek, Mexican and Caribbean food, as well as a bar and ice cream stall.

Inside the new Darley Street Market (Image: T&A)

The market was first proposed nine years ago as a way of revitalising an area of the city centre that had been hit by a large number of traders moving to the Broadway Shopping Centre.

The old Marks & Spencer building on Darley Street would be demolished and a new market hall built in its place.

The food court balcony at Darley Street Market (Image: T&A)

There would be a floor for non food traders, a floor selling fresh food, and a food court made up of a number of hot food vendors, space for performances and an balcony overlooking a new city square.

This market would eventually replace the city’s two existing markets – Oastler Market and Kirkgate Market.

Those two market buildings will eventually be demolished to make was for a new “city village” development of housing.

Darley Street Market with the Kirkgate Centre in the background (Image: T&A)

The original budget for the market was £23.5m – but this then increased to £27m, with the Council blaming high inflation rates.

Earlier this year, the Authority pumped another £1.4m into the scheme after it emerged the original plan of finding a third party operator to run the food hall had fallen through.

The City Square in Darley Street Market (Image: T&A)

The Council’s markets team will now run the hall – a change that required extra money.

Members of the Council’s Regeneration and Environment Scrutiny Committee were shown round the market on Tuesday afternoon.

Inside Darley Street Market (Image: T&A)

They were told that the food court on the top floor will include traders selling Mexican, Greek, Italian, Cantonese, Asian, and Caribbean foods.

One stall will sell loaded fries and another ice cream.

There will be a bar selling alcohol as well as a mocktail stall and a coffee shop, and the floor will also have a portable stage to allow the food hall to host concerts, performances and cookery demonstrations.

The scrutiny committee on the balcony of Darley Street Market (Image: T&A)

The food floor will include many of the traders Bradford residents are familiar with, including Taplin’s butchers and Sollys Greengrocer.

And the non-food stall will be home to stores selling clothes, fabrics and shoes, as well as beauty and hair stalls.

The public square, which has space for 500 people, will include large “jumbrella” parasols that will provide shelter in bad weather, a big screen that could screen concerts or events like football tournaments, and the restored gates of the former Kirkgate Market – which have been in storage for decades.

The gates of the old Kirkgate Market will be on display in the new city square (Image: T&A)

It will host numerous events – with several planned for Bradford’s City of Culture year.

Two ground floor cafe units will open out onto the square.

Steven Jenks, senior project manager, told the tour that the market was “oversubscribed” and that there was a waiting list for traders wanting to set up there.

Some of the ground floor market stalls (Image: T&A)

Members were told the market would have footfall cameras that would provide data on how many people are visiting each stall.

Stalls that are not performing well may not have their contracts renewed, and Mr Jenks said this would create a turnover that could see less popular stalls replaced with traders on the waiting list.

Successful traders leaving to open up units elsewhere in the city centre would also create a turnover, which Mr Jenks said would help keep the market fresh.

He said: “If a trader does well and wants to expand we can direct them to some of the vacant shops in the city centre – that way we’re keeping them in the area.”

Inside Darley Street Market (Image: T&A)

The Council had been in touch with the owners of neighbouring buildings either side of the market, who plan to refurbish their empty properties once the market is completed. These units could be offered to either traders who were not successful in getting a spot in the new market or traders looking to expand and move out of the market.

The food hall will open much later into the evening than the market – as late as 10pm. There are rows of shutters in the building that mean the food and non-food areas of the market can be closed off while access to the food hall remains open late into the night.

The big screen in the city square at Darley Street Market (Image: T&A)

Asked when the market will be opening, Mr Jenks said: “The construction staff will be done by Autumn. We’re not giving an opening date yet because by the time all the work is done the traders will be in the pre Christmas period, and some of them don’t want to move in that period because it is their busiest time.

The scrutiny committee in the new City Square (Image: T&A)

“We’d rather fully open properly with all the stalls open than rush it and open with traders still putting items on the shelves.

“There is still a lot happening. We understand people want it to open as soon as possible.”

The Committee will be given a further update on the market in September.

Councillor Alex Ross-Shaw, Bradford Council’s Executive Member for Regeneration, Planning and Transport said: “Getting to this stage is a major milestone in this once in a generation regeneration project.

"We’re now moving into the fit-out stage working with traders to ensure the stalls that they are moving to are of a high standard and meet the needs of their business. We are aiming for the new Darley Street Market to be ready to be open later in the year.”