New window vinyls on 1870s building to be investigated

The large, bright blue vinyl sign was recently installed in the windows of the Betfred unit on Market Street – part of the former Brown Muff department store building that dates back to the 1870s.

Bradford Civic Society contacted the Council earlier this month, raising concerns that the full length window vinyls had seemingly been installed without the betting company seeking advertising consent or planning permission.

A response from the Council to the Civic Society this week said the work would be investigated by the planning enforcement team “as soon as possible.”

The building lies within the Bradford City Centre Conservation Area.

The vinyls, which obscure about half of the unit’s Market Street elevation, features a collage of stock images of sports ranging from tennis to boxing.

When asked about the apparently unauthorised work, a spokesperson for Betfred said: “We will work with the council on this issue.”

The new vinyl window fittings on the Conservation Area unit (Image: T&A)

The work comes at a sensitive time for the area – work to pedestrianise Market Street is nearing completion after years of planning.

The project, part of a wider scheme across the centre, has transformed Market Street from a busy bus route to a pedestrianised route linking City Park to the Broadway shopping centre.

Before the work begun Council officers said the pedestrianisation would “enhance the architecture” of the many grand buildings on Market Street.

The grand Brown Muff store was built on the corner of Ivegate and Market Street in 1870, and was known more recently as Rackhams.

After decades of being one of Bradford's most popular shops, the store shut in 1995.

While much of its upper floor space is empty, its ground floor is home to businesses including Cafe Nero, Lefteris Cafe, Nationwide and the Betfred store in question.

In recent years there have been plans to make better use of the upper floors, with applications to turn the building into an aparthotel and another to convert it into flats both having been approved but never implemented.

It is not the first time the Council’s Enforcement Team has investigated a business on Market Street for alleged inappropriate signage.

Last year enforcement action began after a convenience store, the Red Shop, installed garish modern signage on the Grade I listed Wool Exchange. That store’s frontage has since been replaced with a more traditional shop front.