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.

The Future: The Death of Bradford

On March 24th 2052, the Bradford Living Museum will open in West Leeds.  This brand new visitor attraction will utilise the 19th and 20th century Architecture of the so-called 'lost city of Bradford' alongside interactive displays and experiences of what it was like to live in an industrial (and post-industrial) city in Northern England in the 19th and 20th centuries.  It's hard to believe now, but only forty years ago, Bradford was a city in its own-right and independent from Leeds.  This is a profile of how the city was lost:

2014: The economic slump arising from the 'credit crunch' has stared to ease, but it has taken many retail casualties.  Market Street in Bradford City Centre now does not have a single retailer.
2015: A shopping centre in the Broadway area of the City had not developed,  a company from Westfield had not delivered the centre and the site had been empty for ten years, so the council took over the development of the site, as the
2017: The Broadway shopping centre development is halted as recession takes hold again, the site is now characterised by rusting steelwork over the 'hole'.
2020: Bradford City fail to regain their Football League status after three years as a non-league club and they go bust, no new club is likely to return to Valley Parade.
2022: Changing trends and the retail recession have meant that the city's main shopping centre, the Kirkgate Centre had to close, the building was fifty years old and the maintenance cost was restricting how long it could open for.
2024: Some parts of the city centre are now abandoned and derelict as there is no prospect of them being brought back into retail use. The early 2020s advancement in private car travel has made it cheaper than ever and people are braving the congestion to shop in other cities.
2026: Bradford University closes down, as tuition fees rises and lack of funding since the 2010s have put the university out of business.
2028: The National Media Museum relocates from Bradford to Media City at Salford.
2030: The curtain goes down on the famous Alhambra Theatre as the Council could no longer afford to run it and no private firm would take it on.
2031: After failing to secure a Super League license in the last 2020s, Bradford Bulls, the city's rugby league club are unable to survive life outside the sport's top tier and go bust.
2031: The 2031 census shows that the population of the City of Bradford has decreased by 30% in the last ten years, leaving behind the most disadvantaged communities.
2032: The college relocates from Bradford to the Aire Valley.
2034: Major civil unrest and riots in central Bradford, youth unemployment is 90% as many communities in the city centre are isolated from job opportunities and lack the skills to be able to access employment opportunities.
2035: The M606 cuts through many inner Bradford suburbs, meeting the M65 in the Aire Valley. The government have undertaken building motorways as low carbon car travel has boomed.
2036: Bradford City Council is abolished along with other authorities in the area, Leeds Council is now the single council administering the greater Leeds area.
2037: Forster Square Retail Park closes down, but is remembered at the new Forster Square Mall where the M606 meets the M65 at the end of the Aire Valley.  Many offices are now located close to the motorways, as we know it today.
2039: The branch line from Shipley to the centre of Bradford (at Forster Square Station) is closed due to low usage.
2041: Bradford Interchange is closed down, it is replaced with a new station at Junction 4 of the M606: West Leeds Parkway.
2044: Westfield opens its new West Leeds Mall on the site of the former Odsal stadium.
2047: The extent of lawlessness in the old city centre of Bradford requires the Army to be brought into clear the area of civilians, large walls dubbed: 'the ring of steel' are erected around the old city centre.
2049: The new postal service, formed between a merger of the Royal Mail and Amazon remove Bradford from addresses.  At about the same time Bradford is removed from roadsigns.
2051: The dereliction of old Bradford has created unique wildlife habitats, Leeds Council open the West Leeds Nature Area.
2052: Significant investment inside 'the ring of steel' leads to the opening of Bradford Living Museum.

The Future: The Renaissance of Bradford

Bradford has had mixed fortunes in its long history.  Only forty years ago, the city was being written off as 'finished', received much disparaging media coverage and the landscape was blotted by abandoned buildings and failed building schemes.  Just as the city's textile trade created great prosperity 200 years ago, the last four decades have inspired other cities to show that there is a life after the traditional industry has moved away.  This is how the city came back from the brink:

2013: Market Street in Bradford, an area which had a large number of vacant shops and pubs, becomes a new centre for independent shops and café bars, thanks to a partnership between the council and land owners.  The now famous Market Street Gallery opened.
2014: Confidence in the city is growing, events at City Park are attracting people and Westfield is about to open.  Market Street has been transformed and now Rawson Street is getting the same treatment, with many more independent shops opening.
2015: The Westfield shopping mall opens at Broadway.
2016: The former Odeon cinema is redeveloped and opens as a new concert hall.
2017: The Goitside Area is seeing major residential lead development, artists studios and alternative clubs have occupied some of the disused mill buildings.
2018: The 'Business Forest' adjacent to City Park opens up, with many business relocating parts of their operations to Bradford.
2020: The University expands, as admissions have increased in previous years, reflecting the city's new found popularity.
2022: The city is now better connected than ever, it is one of the first in the UK to get a new generation free wi-fi network and the newly electrified railway to Manchester and Leeds delivers much faster travel times.
2023: Bradford's schools have soared up the national league tables thanks to the unparalleled investment they have received in the last decade.
2024: An amazing year for sport in the city as Bradford Bulls win the Super League Grand Final for the first time in 19 years,  and Bradford City return to the Premier League after two decades.  The City Park is the scene of many sporting celebrations.
2026: More business success for the city, as a top national company relocates in national headquarters to Bradford city centre.
2028: Bradford is now connected to the West Yorkshire Tram network.
2030: The new Bradford Ice Arena opens close to Forster Square, as the canal extension nears completion.
2032: The Bradford Canal Spur is reopened, after waiting many years, the canal basis is a hive of development activity.
2035: Bradford Crossrail is completed, with the new central station providing a link to the HS2 line.  The West Yorkshire tram network continues to connect different parts of the centre, public transport investment has been significant to help manage the decline of the private car as fuel costs have become unsustainable.
2037: Forster Square Retail Park is demolished and is transformed into a lush canalside linear park, supporting the increased resident population of this part of the city.
2040: The Tate Modern North gallery opens up at the Forster Square canal basin, attracting millions of visitors every year and helping Bradford become a tourism hub.
2042: Bradford is named the European Capital of Culture, with events held across the city's concert hall, arena and galleries.
2045: The central area of the city now has more people living there than at any other time, as people have moved closer to centres of work and leisure, and as the city's economy has developed.  The economic productivity gap between the cities of Northern England and London keeps closing as infrastructure has improved beyond recognition in the North.
2048: A new 38,000 capacity central stadium opens to the south of the city centre, the highlight of the year there being England defeating Australia in the quarter final of the Rugby League World Cup, which England went on to win.
2052: The City of Bradford's population has nearly doubled to 600,000, alongside the city of Leeds with over 1 million people, as the UK's population nears 75 million, with successful cities like those of West Yorkshire accommodating this change.