City Village, Bradford: Hoardings go up around Yorkshire site set for major revamp
The landscape of Bradford city centre is beginning to change, with hoardings placed around buildings that will soon make way for the long planned “City Village.”
The first phase of the multi million pound housing development will see dozens of family homes built on the “top Oastler” site off Westgate.
Late last week hoardings were being installed around landmark buildings such as the former Bradford Brewery and the recently vacated Bazaar.
They are in preparation for the demolition of a number of these buildings – work that will be followed by the construction of townhouses that make up phase one of the City Village development.
Approved in February, the City Village plan will involve the demolition of Bradford’s Kirkgate Shopping Centre, Oastler Centre and several other buildings to make way for a 1,000 home development.
Parks and greenspaces and 7,000 square metres of business space will also be created as part of the development.
The development is a partnership between Bradford Council, West Yorkshire Combined Authority and the English Cities Fund, itself a partnership between Homes England, Legal & General, and Muse.
The overall project has already secured £13.2 million in-principle funding from the West Yorkshire Combined Authority and £30 million of Government funding via Homes England.
The Oastler and Kirkgate sites were recently handed over to the developers by Bradford Council.
Phase one will take place over two sites, the Chair Street site on one side of Westgate, currently made up of council-owned car parks, and the Northern Oastler site currently occupied by a multi storey car park, Shaw House, the former home to Bradford Brewery, and the Bazaar building.
Bradford Civic Society had questioned the demolition of Shaw House, but City Village designers said it was not compatible with the layout of the planned homes. 97 family homes will be built on these two sites, with construction expected to begin late 2027 and the homes completed in autumn 2029.
These homes will be delivered in partnership with Bradford-based housing provider Incommunities.
Hundreds of apartments will be built on the Oastler and Kirkgate sites as part of the later stages of City Village.
The plans were first proposed by the council’s former Labour leadership, and carried on by the current Reform leadership, who describe it as a “transformative development for Bradford.”
Some hoardings have already been in place around the Oastler market building, vacant since the opening of Darley Street Market.
Late last week further hoardings were installed around the Shaw House building and the Bazaar, with a builder’s compound created on an open car park at the bottom of Rawson Road.
The eight month demolition of the Oastler Centre will be carried out by Wakefield-based contractor, Metropolitan Demolition.