Home Bargains agrees to reduce size of 'massive' signs planned for new store

A DISCOUNT retailer has agreed to reduce the size of its bright red signs on its new store after concerns were raised they could harm views of a World Heritage Site.

Home Bargains will now install more “modest” signage on its new Shipley store after Conservation Officers hit out at the “massive” branding originally planned for the building.

A new Home Bargains store is currently being built on the Shipley Wharf Retail park at the junction of Salts Mill Road and Otley Road, which is already home to a Lidl and Costa.

Although plans for the large store were approved last year – the building’s location within the “buffer zone” for the nearby Saltaire World Heritage Site meant any signage planned for the building would also need to be approved by Bradford Council before being installed.

Earlier this year Home Bargains submitted plans for such signage, with one of the biggest signs measuring 14 metres by four metres, and featuring the company’s distinctive red branding.

These plans were not welcomed by the Council’s Conservation team, with Conservation Officer S Campbell raising “major concerns.”

Referring to the area surrounding the new store, they said: “The quality in terms of its architecture, condition and public realm is generally poor and does not provide a high quality experience for visitors approaching the World Heritage Site from this direction.

The under construction Home Bargains store (Image: Newsquest)

“Closer to Saltaire there begins to establish a historic character for the approach to Saltaire with the Grade II listed Victoria Mills.

“There is a major concern with the huge size of the proposed signage - at 14.6m x 4m this is excessive and the number and size of signs overall.

“The massive size, height and red colour would be visible in the foreground in views towards Salts Mill from surrounding hillsides, and would have a negative impact on these views, so would detract from the Outstanding Universal Value of Saltaire and it’s setting.”

Home Bargains agreed to reduce the size of the planned signs, with the biggest now measuring 11 metres by three metres.

The new plans have been approved, with officers saying: “The signage will reflect the branding of the company which will occupy the newly built retail unit with the scale, appearance, colour, placement, level and type of illumination considered to be appropriate.”

When the plans were first submitted in 2022 Home Bargains said the store would create 70 jobs, and that there were “no plans” to shut the town’s existing Home Bargains, based in a much smaller unit on Market Square.

The Telegraph & Argus has contacted Home Bargains for more detail on when the store will be opening, and if the chain still planned to retain its Market Street site.

A Home Bargains spokesperson said: “Unfortunately we are unable to make any comment at this time.”