Money secured for first phase of city regeneration scheme
Bradford Council has secured nearly £1m in European Regional Development Agency funding to begin delivery of the first phase of the proposed City Village in the “Top of Town” area.
This will focus on improving public areas along North Parade and the surrounding area.
In light of the creation of the new Darley Street Market and public square, and the corresponding closure of the Oastler Centre once the new market opens, the council is proposing to totally re-purpose the Top of Town area of the city centre by creating a new City Village. This is intended to be a green, healthy and sustainable neighbourhood of up to 1,000 new homes.
The 10-year regeneration plan should create safer roads, extensively landscaped public spaces, revitalised independent shopping, and new business spaces.
To kick-off the City Village proposals the local authority is creating Darley Street Market, a new £21m food orientated market due to open in 2022, and has now secured funding to carry out an early phase of highway improvements and sustainable landscaping works.
The £925,000 funding from the European Regional Development Agency is on top of the almost £2m already secured from the National Lottery Heritage Fund to restore key heritage buildings in the Top of Town Conservation Area under the Bradford City Centre Townscape Heritage Scheme. The first grant from this scheme was recently awarded to 14-16 Rawson Place to restore the building with retail space on the ground floor and flats in the upper floor.
The latest funding will be used to complement the existing plans to improve the space around the statue of Richard Oastler at Northgate and Rawson Road. The scope of the proposed improvements to public spaces will now also include North Parade and Rawson Square.
The funding is from the European Structural and Investment Funds (ESIF) Growth Programme for Leeds City Region – Integrated Actions for Sustainable Urban Development and will be used to deliver improvements that help tackle climate change and the risk of surface water flooding as well as helping to preserve and protect the environment.
Public spaces will be planted with semi mature native species trees and soft landscaping will deliver ecological improvements in the form of new habitats and wildlife areas. A network of ‘rain gardens’ will be established as part of a sustainable drainage system designed to help mitigate local flooding risks.
The hard landscape components of the project will see the re-introduction of locally sourced natural stone paving on main pedestrian routes, restoring the character, look and feel of this Conservation Area.
The Council will be working with local stakeholders during the design process to look at the details of any proposals. There will also be a consultation on the delivery of the project.
Councillor Alex Ross-Shaw, Bradford Council’s executive member for regeneration, planning and transport, said: “We’re delighted to secure this funding for North Parade and the Top of Town as it lets us begin to deliver on the emerging vision for the City Village.
“This money from the European Regional Development Agency also provides us with an exciting opportunity to really ‘green’ our city centre with rain-gardens and landscaping that promotes biodiversity, which will help us in our response to the climate change emergency.
“There’s lots of consultation to do with local residents and businesses to discuss what they want to see in a modern city centre and for the City Village and we can’t wait to get started.”
