Plans unveiled for 1,000 new homes in 'City Village' in the middle of Bradford
The major regeneration plan would see the redevelopment of the Oastler Market site
A HUGE scheme to turn a “tired and rundown” area of Bradford city centre into a new urban village has now been submitted.
The first planning application for Bradford’s City Village is now officially live, and – if it is approved – work could begin with the demolition of the Oastler Shopping Centre later this year.
The plans will see around 1,000 homes built on three sites in the city centre – the former Oastler Market site, the site of the Kirkgate Shopping Centre and on a collection of car parks in the Chain Street Area.
The scheme is being delivered by ECF (the partnership between Homes England, L&G and Muse) and Bradford Council.
The new planning application includes full details of the first stage of the development – housing on Chain Street and a section of the Oastler site, and new roads, public green spaces and cycle and walking routes in this area.
It also includes outline details of the rest of the site – over 903 dwellings and up to 7,000sqm of retail and community uses.
Many of the homes in this future phase will be part of large apartment buildings.
Although there is little detail of the planned retail and business units, the application form says the redevelopment will include around 300 full time jobs.
The application, made up of 56 lengthy documents, is now live on Bradford Council’s planning portal for people to view.
Bradford Council hopes the project will reverse the fortunes of an area of the city centre that has seen declining footfall in recent years due to a number of factors.
As well as the national decline of the high street, Bradford saw many businesses relocate from established city centre areas, to the Broadway shopping centre in 2015.
The Morrisons supermarket that anchored the Oastler centre and was a huge pull to the top of town area shut its doors the following year.
The City Village scheme has already secured major inward investment, including £13.2 million in-principle funding from the West Yorkshire Combined Authority, a strategic partner which is helping to make the scheme a reality, alongside £30 million of Government funding via Homes England.
Incommunities has been appointed as the landlord for the social housing that will be included in the plans.
The detailed part of the new application includes:
The creation of 33 townhouses on the Chain Street site, centred around a new community green. The development includes a mix of two and three-bedroom homes, each with designated parking space.
A further 64 two and three-bedroom townhouses on the northern Oastler site, arranged around a series of courtyards and green spaces, each with designated parking space.
Supporting infrastructure including safer roads, landscaped public spaces and active travel routes that promote walking and cycling.
There have been several consultations into the City Village plans, and the application includes some feedback from those consultations.
It says 422 people responded to the latest wave of consultations.
Of those consulted, the most common words used to describe the City Village area were tired, rundown, unsafe and empty.
Referring to how people responded when asked why they didn’t venture up to this part of the city, the document says: People cited a lack of cleanliness, with mentions of rubbish, drug-use, and an overall dirty environment.”
They referred to an “Absence of appealing shops, with closed storefronts and limited choices.”
It said 62 per cent of those consulted voiced support for the City Village plan.
More details of the next phase – the development of the Kirkgate Centre site and the rest of the Oastler site are expected after work on the first phase begins.
Councillor Susan Hinchcliffe, Leader of Bradford Council said: “It is very exciting to be taking this next step towards realising the vision for City Village.
“Just as we’ve recently seen Darley Street Market successfully open its doors to great acclaim, so City Village will continue our work to transform the ‘top of town.’ It will be game-changing for the city centre.
“City Village is so much more than a housing development; it’s about creating a thriving, people-centric neighbourhood that encourages activity and brings communities together. We are leading the way on this, and it will set the gold standard for the future of urban living.”
If plans are approved, demolition of the Oastler site is expected to begin later this year, ahead of work beginning on Phase One in spring 2026.