No listed status for city shopping centre facing demolition
Bradford’s Kirkgate Shopping Centre, which is in line to be knocked down, will not be given listed status.
Bradford Council, which bought the centre for £15.5m, intends to demolish the centre to make way for a housing development, green space and small commercial units.
Last year, the council asked Historic England to consider issuing a “certificate of immunity” preventing listed status to allow the demolition. The heritage body has now agreed the building should not have protected status.
In a report on the Kirkgate Centre, Historic England notes: “It lacks the architectural flair, design or technological innovation found in exemplar Brutalist buildings of this period.
“It has a bulky, monolithic appearance due to the uniform elevations, repetition of key features and continuous flat roof line of the rooftop car park.”
Historic England’s report also said the property is “mundane and repetitive” when compared to other similar examples.
The Kirkgate Centre opened in 1976 and was then called the Arndale Centre. In recent years it has suffered from a large number of vacant premises.
The market inside the centre will be closed when the neighbouring Darley Street Market opens, with retailer Primark due to relocate to Bradford’s newer Broadway shopping centre.
