200 staff finally make move to Bradford's One City Park

Around 200 staff from PriceWaterhouseCooper have now moved into One City Park – a multi-million-pound office development in the heart of the city.

The £35m development has been funded through a mix of Bradford Council and Government cash – raising questions from opposition politicians over public bodies' roles in regeneration and development.

But at an opening event on Monday, a top figure at the company said that intervention was needed to “change the narrative” regarding Bradford.

One City Park (Image: T&A)

PwC opened its first office in Bradford on Godwin Street in 2019, and earlier this year it was announced that the company would be the first tenants of One City Park – with staff moving to the new office building.

The building has been described as the first high quality office building constructed in Bradford for over two decades.

PwC staff began the move to One City Park last month – and Monday saw the official opening of the office.

The reception at One City Park (Image: T&A)

200 staff who had been based in Godwin Street have made the move to the new office, with hundreds more new staff expected to make the move in the coming years.

Eventually around 500 PwC staff will be based at One City Park.

When the Telegraph & Argus visited the office on Monday, Armoghan Mohammed, Regional Chair for the North, said: “We’ve had people here for meetings who hadn’t been to Bradford before, and they hadn’t realised how much investment there has been here. They’ve really enjoyed their visits. They told me that from walking around the city they felt very comfortable.”

Mr Mohammed is also a trustee of Bradford 2025, and hopes that people see the investment from PwC and the City of Culture status as a vote of confidence in Bradford.

Among the facilities in the office are male and female prayer spaces. Mr Mohammed said around 50 per cent of staff at the Bradford office are from minority backgrounds, and the prayer facilities were something many existing staff had requested.

The prayer space at the PWC offices (Image: T&A)

As well as prayer space, there are ablution facilities and a wudu.

He added: “People have asked why we are investing in an office building. A lot of work requires collaboration. A lot of the economy is highly skilled, and people learn skills by spending time with more experienced colleagues.

“When you do it right people do enjoy working in the right environment.

“There is huge talent here in Bradford, and I’d like to think the level of investment in this office will give local people the confidence they can work for an organisation like ours.

Office space in One City Park (Image: T&A)

“When I was growing up I never thought I’d end up having a role like this for a company like PwC. We want to create future leaders from the local population.”

Andy Ward, Market Senior Partner for Leeds and Bradford, said: “We want to showcase Bradford as a place to work, invest and create jobs.

“We want to make Bradford a city where people want to work, and are able to work.”

He described the investment by PwC as a “shot in the arm” for Bradford, adding: “It will entice more people to the city.”

Although PwC is the anchor tenant, taking up two floors, there have as yet been no announcements of any other tenants.

Referring to the remaining empty floors in the building, Mr Ward said: “I think the floors below will be in serious demand.

“The best definition of whether this development is a success will be if they eventually build Two City Park.”

Asked about the fact that much of the funding for the office had come from the Council, he said: “I’m glad they have done it. I’m pleased City Hall had the confidence to make this happen – it needed to happen.”

Mr Mohammed added: “If you’re trying to change the narrative of a city or area, you have to make interventions. You can really see the quality in the building that they have delivered. It makes a big statement about Bradford.”

Sammia Bibi has worked at the Bradford office of PwC since 2021, and recently made the move to One City Park. She said: “It is a lot bigger than the old office – that was tiny compared to this. We’ve got a lot more space for collaborative work now. I used to drive through the city centre every day so it is great to be here now and see it from this view. It is really exciting.”

Councillor Susan Hinchcliffe, Leader of Bradford Council said: “When PwC became our anchor tenant at One City Park, we knew that their investment showed just how important this office space is in the wider regeneration of Bradford.

“The partnerships across the region between local and central government, and private and public sector organisations are bringing opportunities and investment, which allow us to continue to grow.”