The eagerly anticipated first computer-generated images (CGIs) of Bradford City Village have been unveiled at the Bradford Showcase event at Leeds Dock, held alongside the prestigious UKREiiF regeneration forum. These dynamic visuals offer a glimpse into the future of Bradford’s ‘Top of Town’ and Darley Street areas, promising a vibrant transformation of the city’s historic commercial heart.
The ambitious City Village project aims to create 1,000 new homes, alongside diverse retail, leisure, and business spaces, all set within a high-quality public realm.
This development, spearheaded by Bradford Council in partnership with ECF (formerly the English Cities Fund), seeks to rejuvenate the Oastler and Kirkgate Shopping Centres.
The newly released CGIs reflect the latest developments in the masterplan, which has been meticulously refined following extensive public consultations. Hundreds of local residents contributed their ideas, prioritising more community amenities, a variety of housing types, and increased green spaces.
The key proposals for City Village include the Oastler site, which plans to feature around 70 townhouses with gardens and parking, plus approximately 380 apartments in buildings ranging from four to six storeys, with one potentially reaching up to ten storeys.
The Kirkgate site is ideal for higher-density apartment living, featuring attractive new courtyards and around 400 new apartments, with vibrant ground-floor spaces for shops, eateries, and leisure activities. Building heights are still under consideration.
The Chain Street site proposes lower-density family housing, including around 50 modern townhouses set around a new community green, offering a mix of two to four-bedroom properties with gardens and parking.
All three sites will feature extensive green spaces, including three new community parks. Notably, a significant new linear park, tentatively named ‘Darley Park,’ is planned for Kirkgate along Darley Street.
Councillor Alex Ross-Shaw, Bradford Council’s Lead Member for Regeneration, Transport, and Planning, emphasised the project’s significance, stating that City Village is the next stage of their ambitious regeneration program to reshape the city centre. He said: “City Village is the next stage of our ambitious regeneration programme to reshape our city centre. Key projects like One City Park and Darley Street Market are now nearing completion and City Village shows the direction of the city centre for the next ten years – quality housing, more public spaces and a shift away from an over-reliance on traditional retail that has now changed forever with online shopping and changing customer habits.
“This draft masterplan is a key step forward to unlocking the funding and investment required to deliver the necessary regeneration to Bradford city centre and provide jobs and opportunities to people across the district.
“Our vision is to create a healthy, sustainable and community-friendly neighbourhood. While housing is at the heart of these plans, City Village will also create opportunities for new independent retail, cafes, bars and business spaces. 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.”
ECF, a strategic joint venture comprising developer Muse, investor Legal & General, and the government’s housing and regeneration agency, Homes England, is integral to the project. Simon Dew, ECF’s development director, highlighted Bradford’s unprecedented investment in transport and public infrastructure, which City Village aims to complement by balancing retail with other uses that attract people to the city centre. Dew said: “Bradford is investing at an unprecedented level in its transport and public infrastructure to drive future success and realise its full economic potential. City Village is about responding to these new opportunities by balancing retail against other uses that will bring more people into the city centre.
“City Village will transform Bradford and these latest plans reveal the current thinking, and we’re really keen to hear what people think about them. There is another phase of engagement planned and we’ll encourage everyone to look at the plans and have their say before the final masterplan is approved.”
The next phase of public engagement is scheduled for Autumn 2024. A planning application will be submitted in Spring 2025, with construction potentially starting later that year. The wider project team includes 5plus Architects and re-form Landscape Architecture.
For more information, visit www.bradfordcityvillage.com
