New images show how Bradford city centre will look after 'city village' is built

THE first images of the planned 'city village' in the heart of Bradford have been revealed -and show a number of new city centre parks.

The development will see over 1,000 homes built over three sites – one on the Kirkgate Centre site, another on the Oastler Market site and the third on a number of car parks off Westgate.

The development will also include retail and business space on the ground floors of the largest residential buildings.

The images are being released at the national regeneration event UK REiiF – which is being held in Leeds this week.

The City Village scheme is one of the major regeneration projects planned for Bradford – and is due to completely re-shape the city centre.

The project involves the demolition of Kirkgate Centre and Oastler Market, both of which are due to be vacated in the coming years.

An artist's impression of the planned redevelopment of the Oastler Market site (Image: Bradford Council)

It is a partnership between Bradford Council and the English Cities Fund, and is now due to go out to public consultation,.

Kirkgate Centre, owned by Bradford Council, will be demolished after Primark moves to The Broadway Centre, and Kirkgate Market traders move into the new Darley Street Market. A date for the centre’s closure and demolition has yet to be set.

Oastler Centre will also be demolished after Darley Street Market opens – but again, a closure date is yet to be set.

An artist's impression of the proposed development off Chain Street and Westgate (Image: Bradford Council)

Along with the images, more details have been announced of what is planned for each site.

Oastler: This site could contain around 70 townhouses, with gardens and parking, and around 380 apartments. The buildings could range from four to six storeys, with the potential for one building to reach a maximum of ten storeys.

Kirkgate: This site will include higher-density apartment living, with buildings set around new courtyard areas. Around 400 new apartments could be accommodated, and the Council says the work will include “lots of active ground-floor spaces for shops, places to eat and drink and other leisure uses.” Potential building heights are still being explored.

Chain Street (off Westgate): This site could provide lower-density family housing in the form of modern townhouses, set around a new community green. Around 50 new townhouses could be accommodated, in a mix of two-four-bedroom properties with gardens and parking.

The Kirkgate Centre will be demolished as part of the plans (Image: Newsquest)

The English Cities Fund is a joint venture between developer Muse, which has recently delivered One City Park, investor Legal & General, and the government’s housing and regeneration agency, Homes England.

Simon Dew, development director at ECF, said: “These days a lot of people want to live in city centres. It is easy to travel to work and is in a sustainable location.

“There will be a range of house types, and the sites will take advantage of the city centre’s transport connections.”

The Oastler Centre will be demolished as part of the plans (Image: Newsquest)

A consultation on the plan was held earlier this year, with 33 of respondents saying they “strongly supported” the City Village proposals.

However, 16 per cent of people said they “strongly opposed” the scheme.

Mr Dew said: “People wanted to feel that the city centre was a safer place, and a lot more young people said they wanted to live in the centre, like what you see in Leeds.”

He said although the scheme would mostly be residential, many of the buildings would have “active ground floors” with space for cafes, restaurants and shops.

But one of the main new features will be a new park area at each site – the biggest being on the old Kirkgate Market site.

The site off Chain Street (Image: Newsquest)

The linear park, tentatively named Darley Park, will run the length of Darley Street, and front onto the new Darley Street Market and its public square.

Councillor Alex Ross-Shaw, the Council's executive member for regeneration, planning and transport, said the parks would be more traditional green parks, rather than the urban parks like City Park.

He added: “These are places we want people to use. Green spaces in the city are what people want to see.”

Mr Dew said the plans included a range of different types of housing. He said: “There will be town houses on Chain Street and the Oastler site, a mix of two, three and four bedroom houses.

The site off Chain Street (Image: Bradford Council)

“There will also be apartments, similar to what is happening in Manchester and Leeds. The Kirkgate site would be a more apartment focused scheme.

He said the development would “strip back” the building line on Darley Street, opening up views of some of the city’s finest listed buildings.

The removal of the existing buildings would create new routes through the city centre. Cllr Ross-Shaw said: “It is opening up a lot of the heritage of Bradford and changing how people interact with the city centre. It is changing the overreliance on retail.

“Over the years there has been a huge reduction in the need for retail space, but we still need ground floor uses like what is seen in this plan.

“Bringing more homes into the city centre will also increase custom for the existing businesses on North Parade, where our recent investment shows what a sustainable, greener high street can look like.

“We want to take what is happening in cities around the country and apply it to Bradford.

“Getting an organisation like Homes England to the table is exciting – it is a big vote of confidence.”

Mr Dew said it was an evolving scheme, and it could be amended depending on the results of the consultation which begins today.

Demolition work on Kirkgate is unlikely to happen until after the City of Culture year, but work could start earlier on the Chain Street site – which is mainly taken up by car parks and empty space.

‘A second public consultation is planned for the Autumn. The planning application will be submitted in Spring 2025 and construction could commence later that year.’