Bradford Council with its partners and communities, is taking forward ambitious plans for the transformation of the District and city centre.  Cllr Susan Hinchcliffe, Leader of Bradford Council explains.

We are proud to be a member of  the UK Business Council for Sustainable Development UKBCSD and partner in the UKREIIF Beyond Net Zero Pavilion for the second year. We have much to showcase and promote throughout the three days and look forward making every contact and conversation count.

Gearing up to be the next UK City of Culture and Bradford 2025 is now attracting attention, private sector partnership and investors to the District. In partnership with West Yorkshire Combined Authority we've started to invest in key schemes including preparations for the 126 hectare Southern Gateway regeneration site. These are:

• One City Park (£35m, 65,000sq ft Grade A office – completes Autumn 2023)
• Bradford Live (£50m+, 4,000 seater indoor music venue – completes Q1 2024)
• Darley Street Market (£23m indoor market in the heart of City Village – completes Winter 2023)
• Bradford Interchange improvements – including demolition of Hall Ings, former NCP car park structure as phase one of the access improvements to Bradford Interchange.
• District readiness for 2025 including a major pedestrianisation of Hall Ings and the approach to the National Science and Media Museum.

All this builds on the £50m Clean Air Zone (CAZ) and a privately-backed £40m 1Energy district heat network, which is now under construction.  Yorkshire Water and  Keyland are progressing the substantial Esholt site as an exemplar sustainable development scheme and expect to be onsite in 2024. We are committed to sustainable development: to effective regeneration, climate and environmental action that has real social and economic value. Our clean growth ambition is central to the delivery of a sustainable, inclusive and resilient economy that works for everyone.

To enhance the Council's ability to work positively with investors and the private sector we have made some key  senior level executive appointments. These include:

• David Shepherd, Strategic Director of Place (former Head of Trade & Invest at Leeds City Region and Senior Advisor to The Bank of England)

• Alan Lunt, Director of City Readiness (former Deputy Chief Executive of Dudley Council and Director of Regeneration at Brent and Sefton); 

• Angela Blake, Assistant Director Economy and Development

• Andrew Whittles, Programme Director – Air Quality and Clean Air Zone  and;

• Richard Hollinson, Assistant Director of Transport Planning and Highways and Major Projects

Through our regeneration plans and these changes in leadership we are seeking to transform the opportunities for commercial success and for the most disadvantaged in our society; creating greater prosperity for our communities and businesses.  These outcomes are consistent with the Government’s “Levelling Up” objectives as we shape a clean,  high-growth economy and consolidate our position as the UK’s leading clean growth city district.

The critical elements to unlocking the true potential of our city centre now revolve around the delivery of the new rail station including a through line connection and prominent residential schemes within the Southern Gateway regeneration area. 

On the rail station, more productive discussions with  Network Rail, the Department for Transport (DfT), DLUCH and HMT are taking place to build the case for incorporating a through station for Bradford into the plans for delivering the infrastructure needed for the whole of the North to succeed.

Our  focus is now on demonstrating the additionality the new station provides by transforming connectivity to cities in the North and Midlands and integrating it into our economic and spatial plans for the Southern Gateway.  This will create significant benefits for the investment viability of our city centre residential, office and retail schemes, as well as enhancing the experience for rail passengers and redefining the perceptions of Bradford.

Alongside our District Economic Partnership, a dedicated  Southern Gateway Board  has been created, with Nigel Foster appointed as Chair, and consisting of Homes England, DfT, Network Rail, DLUHC, Civic Leaders and other key regional stakeholders and experienced regeneration leaders. In addition, we have also commissioned a team of expert consultants - led by WSP - to develop a delivery framework for the Southern Gateway regeneration scheme (126ha) and this work is now moving at pace.

We are shaping  our City Village proposal to be a test bed for C21st city living. We are now moving forward with the process to work with a private sector development partner. We have also recently completed the £15m acquisition of the Kirkgate Shopping Centre. Bradford City Centre features within the Strategic Place Partnership being created with Homes England and West Yorkshire Combined Authority and we look forward to working in partnership with them on housing growth and sustainable development opportunities.

We are currently part way through commissions to prepare detailed Development Frameworks for Bradford South/East/West and moving our attention up through the Aire Valley to Shipley, Bingley, Keighley and Ilkey. This work is set to identify and prioritise key  interventions and investment opportunities for our pipeline of growth sites and schemes. The whole district is open for business and will be involved in our year of Culture in 2025.

We are committed to effective public-private partnership  and to enabling the conditions for investment in one of the truly great Northern cities and across our whole District.

Our Invest in Bradford team are all set to  deal with your enquiries at UKREiiF so please get in touch via www.investinbradford.com   info@investinbradford.com