Darley Street Market needs another £2.4m - report reveals

The opening of the new market has already been pushed back, and a new report by cash strapped Bradford Council reveals that a number of issues have led to “an extension of time and additional cost” to the project.

These issues include the propping up of neighbouring buildings – a cost that hadn’t been included in the initial calculations for the flagship regeneration project.

News of the £2.4m overspend comes just a few months after the Council’s Executive approved a £1.4m overspend on the development.

One opposition Councillor has called the extra cost "most unwelcome."

At a meeting of the Council’s Executive on Tuesday, Council bosses will be told that “several factors” have led to the overspend of the flagship development, including design changes and a more complicated than expected demolition process.

Plans for the new market date back years, and has been one of the biggest regeneration projects of the past decade.

Built on the former Marks & Spencer site on Darley Street, the three-storey market will eventually replace the city’s two existing markets, at Oastler and Kirkgate.

An aerial image of Darley Street Market (Image: Bradford Council)

Darley Street Market will feature a fresh food hall that will include butchers, fishmongers and greengrocers, a non-food floor that will feature clothing and beauty stalls and a food hall that will have street food stalls featuring cuisines such as Green, Cantonese and Caribbean, as well as a bar and “mocktail” bar.

A balcony overlooks the new city square, which features a big screen that will broadcast concerts and sporting events.

This square will also host outdoor stalls and events.

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

The Authority then added another £1.4m to the budget earlier this year to help fit out the food and drinks hall on the top floor after the business model for the food court was re-drawn. The Council’s markets team will now run the food hall, rather than a third party operator.

The Executive will be given the latest update on the project and its costs at Tuesday’s meeting.

The report asks the Executive to approve an additional £2.416 towards the market.

It explains: “The construction project to deliver Bradford’s Darley Street Market commenced on April 26 2021 and was completed on June 7 2024. “Due to the complexities of the construction, several factors have impacted upon the completion, for example, design changes and additional work, especially during the demolition phase where the contractor had to undertake more works when the foundations of the surrounding buildings were exposed after demolition of the former Marks and Spencer’s Building.

“This along with temporary and permanent propping of adjacent buildings, which had not been included in the tender costs, resulted in an extension of time and additional cost to the project. These will be funded from the 2024-25 Budget that was set up to mitigate cost pressures, retain the scheme viability and secure desired outcomes.”

The “extension of time” refers to several delays to the market’s opening.

The initial plan was for the market to open in Autumn 2023.

However, in March 2023 the Council announced that the opening date would be pushed back to Spring 2024 – giving traders a chance to move after the busy Christmas period.

Through much of 2024 the Council has referred to the market opening “later this year.”

But on a tour of the building last month Steven Jenks, senior project manager, told the Telegraph & Argus that while the building work would be completed by Autumn, traders would not likely be fully set up until the New Year.

In response to the overspend, Councillor Mike Pollard (Cons. Baildon), Conservative and Queensbury Independent Spokesman on Finance & Projects commented: “Conservatives do understand the problems caused by inflationary pressures in the construction industry and the genuine ‘unexpected’ issues that can arise (even where proper surveys have been done which isn’t always the case!), but another £2.4m call on the Capital Plan is most unwelcome.

"Another example of city centre projects grinding to expensive completion in the context of those anywhere outside the centre looking likely to bite the dust."