DIY Urban Regeneration

Bradford, and particularly the city centre, is in need of regeneration.  Parts of the city have a youth unemployment rate that is more than double the national average, the city centre is near the top of the charts for vacant shop units and stalled development projects have blighted the city centre, a place which faces competition from other centres across West Yorkshire and beyond.  The textile industry in the city has left a legacy of many empty mill buildings, some of which have fallen victim to fires and some have been subject to stalled development proposals (such as Midland Mills, below).


The city is forecast to have one of the fastest rising populations in the UK over the coming years, which presents a challenge as to how all these people are housed.  Property developers are not wanting to take any risks in these turbulent times, so are opting for what seem to be 'safe bets', greenfield and low density houses with gardens and space for cars, a Castle for the Englishman - or Mondeo man.

The mechanisms for delivering regeneration have changed in recent years.  Large scale regeneration projects led by the public sector do not fit with the Government's austerity policies, changes to the availability of finance mean that large scale city centre apartment development, driven by speculators, are a thing of the past.  But the city still has empty buildings, people to house and needs to be a place where companies can start-up or want to move in to.

Community Led Development
Non for profit mutual societies can be set up to secure development.  Brixton Green has issued shares to the community to secure the redevelopment of a council owned site close to the centre of Brixton.  FC United  have issued shares to the community to build their own stadium at Newton Heath.

The Creative Foundation is Folkestone is a charity that has acquired dis-used buildings in the town, leading to the establishment of a Creative Quarter.

Closer to Bradford, the LILAC eco housing scheme in Bramley is currently under development.  This is a mutual home ownership society, where members have joined the co-operative and twenty homes are being built.  LILAC has secured investment through loanstock, where investors can lend the co-operative funds over a fixed period.  In Slaithwaite, the Green Valley Grocer (below) has thrived after the village's greengrocers was bought by the community, following a share issue and the shop provides an outlet for locally produced food, which would not have been possible without the community buying into the venture.

Bradford does have some co-operatives already, the 1 in 12 club and Brances and The Hive housing co-operatives. 

But in the meantime...

The meantime phenomenon has certainly not missed out in Bradford, as demonstrated by Fabric's Pop Up Art Space, Urban Garden and Hand Made in Bradford. The Pop Up People report looked at how vacant spaces have been used temporarily, a theme that was explored in an earlier blogpost.  With Bradford's number of empty shops, this needs to be pursued.

Bradford is yet to have its multi-million pound Westfield shopping mall, but those hipsters in Shoreditch made a whole shopping area out of shipping containers, Boxpark (above).  If shopping in shipping containers seems a bit too far fetched for Bradford, there is certainly scope for small scale intervention.  I walk through Bradford Interchange everyday, it must have one of the highest levels of footfall in the whole city, it will be the first thing that many people see in the city... but just look at it:



Get some greenery on the top of the walls, a climbing plant up those poles and add a bit of colour to those glass panel things and it would just look a whole lot less drab and just a bit more welcoming!

Can we do DIY Regeneration in Bradford?
Why not?  How much confidence is there in other forms of regeneration at the moment, in fact do these even exist any more?  Banks aren't lending money and developers aren't taking risks, but regeneration still needs to happen and someone needs to fill that gap.

Imagine if it was the people who had regenerated places like the Goitside area (below), which had a high number of residents and workers occupying the empty buildings.  Imagine if the community owned and operated the Odeon building and large vacant buildings like Highpoint and Sunwin House were handed over for a large range of retail, arts and entertainment venues - that'd be amazing!

The squeeze on local government finances and the recession require an innovative and adventurous response, particularly in Bradford where the need for regeneration is so acute.  Community led development would help improve Bradford's image, reinforce its identity and help the city centre sustain a larger residential population, which in turn would support shops and services.

So, over to us.

Will the Odeon bloom in the Bradford Spring?

All Eyes on Bradford

The past week in Bradford has been fascinating.  The City Park opening saw thousands come into the City Centre on Saturday, bask in the lovely spring sunshine and see a whole day of entertainment.  Other new things came into the city centre, the Hand Made in Bradford shop and the Life Online gallery at the Media Museum.  Bradford was trending on Twitter throughout the week, with the Bulls fighting for survival and the Bantams fighting.  The main news story for the city centre was the election of George Galloway in the Bradford West by-election, which has ensured people from outside the city passing on their expert opinions on the city.



Enter George Galloway

Whilst a lot of the focus on Galloway’s campaign has been on the targeting of the Muslim community in Bradford West, focusing on issues such as the Iraq war and the Israeli occupation of Palestine, the campaign also focused on local issues.  He has identified the Odeon as one of his main priorities and the non-development of the Westfield site as another.  It seems as though many voters think that George Galloway will bring something new to the local political table, outside of the ‘big three’ parties.  The election of Galloway in the city may have the same impact as having a firebrand directly elected mayor, an issue that we will decide on in a referendum in May.  The issue of having strong leadership from a directly elected mayor is important in a city that has had over a decade of no overall control in the council chamber and that now returns MPs from four different parties to Westminster.

The Save Our Odeon website summarised the views on the Odeon from the by-election candidates. The Conservatives and Labour party showed no apparent view on this issue, with the Liberal Democrats wanting to demolish it or retain the towers.  The other parties sought to save, regenerate, redesign it or at put the issue over to the local population.  The lack of response from the Conservatives and Labour on this is perhaps symbolic of their campaigns. Indeed, the Odeon issue might not be important for some people – A survey of young people from the Bradford Property Forum states that the Odeon does not hold sway for many people.  But the Odeon holds a special place in the hearts of many Bradfordians that would like to see it saved.

The ownership of the Odeon has now passed to the Homes & Communities Agency (HCA), following the winding up of the Regional Development Agency, Yorkshire Forward.  The winding up of Yorkshire Forward, the winding up of Bradford’s Urban Regeneration Company, the architechts going into administration and financial troubles plaguing the developer have renewed hope that the Odeon can be saved.   A developer has come forward that wishes to retain the cinema building as a performing arts institute, again renewing hope that the building can be saved.


Should the Odeon be saved?

If the Odeon is saved, it will ensure that a unique building – unlike many others in Bradford, in terms of the era it was built in and materials used would survive. A building where The Beatles played and, in the UNESCO City of Film, where many people will have seen their first film, had a first date in the back rows that lead to a happy marriage or saw a film that really inspired them.  The HCA provided a damning report of the interior of the building which suggests that it would be very expensive to restore the building back to its former glory, but there have been urban explorers who have seen the building that do not agree with this. There are so many reasons that point to saving the Odeon, both emotive reasons and to preserve the architecture which is unique in Bradford.

If the Odeon is not saved, there is the danger that the site will become another ‘Westfield’, a derelict hole next to two of the most visited buildings in the city (The Alhambra and the Media Museum), opposite a flagship public square and opposite the Southgate development, where many travellers will stay at the Jury’s Inn and see a derelict hole from their window.  Ensuring that this situation does not happen would have to be built in to any agreement to redevelop the site, unlike Westfield.  Any new building would have to be bold, striking, unique to compliment its neighbouring buildings and to provide a stirring backdrop to the City Park.  The building’s use should also compliment its surroundings, therefore in this case – a destination for culture and leisure.  When all these things are considered, then the argument to retain the building is strengthened.

The New Victoria scheme to replace the Odeon contains offices, apartments and hotel accommodation.  The apartment market has probably changed beyond recognition since 2005 and it seems unlikely that there will be any major development of apartment buildings in the city centre in the near future.  Bradford has seen many budget hotels open in the last few years and Travelodge, Premier Inn, Holiday Inn, Hilton and Jury’s Inn now all have hotels in the city centre.  It would be interesting to see if any hotel companies have requirements to fulfil in Bradford City Centre – are there many other companies left outside of the ones already here? As for offices, the city centre does need top-spec office space to try and attract companies to relocate here.  There is a lot of vacant office space in the city centre, but much of this is built in an era when businesses had different requirements.  But there is the Police and Magistrates Courts site across the road overlooking the City Park, and possible long term development opportunities such as Jacob’s Well Council Buildings.

There are signs that all is not lost with the Odeon, it may flourish in the ‘Bradford Spring’.  Keep your eye on Bradford Odeon Rescue Group, Save the Odeon and City of Film in the coming months.

Spring is in the air

Spring, according to the definition on wikipedia, relates broadly to ideas of rebirth, renewal and regrowth. Does this apply to Bradford City Centre?  Whilst the Odeon development project (or lack of) or the Westfield development project (or lack of) have been grabbing the local column issues, would suggest Bradford is moribund, but there's lots going on to suggest Bradford is very much alive.


The much talked about City Park has its opening ceremony on March 24th, this Saturday, including musical performers, theatre, parkour and fireworks (and who doesn't like fireworks, except family pets maybe?).  Fabric's Hand Made in Bradford also opens on that day, with Loosely Bound's Zine Extravaganza there too.  Saturday is also the last day of Mark Power's excellent 'The Sound of Two Songs' exhibition, at The Impressions Gallery, just by City Park.  In the evening, there's Dublab at the Polish Club, a screening of 'Room at the Top' at City Hall, 'The Diary of Anne Frank' at the Alhambra and the night before, the world famous Halle Orchestra are playing at St George's Hall. March 23rd sees live literature from Word Life vs How Do Magazine at the Polish club. 


Next month, the city will be hosting the 18th Bradford International Film Festival, with Oliver Assayas, Barbara Windsor and Ray Winstone, amongst others as guests and a diverse range of events.  
Minicine will be at Glyde House for their Mini-Bloodbath, a screening of one of a choice of four horror films and later at the Polish Parish Club for a whole day of Polish cinema. The cinemas at the National Media Museum, show many different films. 


Of course there are loads more things happening in central Bradford and the wider city. Bradford Buzz and How Do Magazine are two fine sources of information for seeing what is going on.  It may not be mainstream, polished and in your face, but there is so much happening in the city right now.