Our Sustainable Future case study: Bradford City Village
26.03.25 4 min read
Contributing to Bradford’s renaissance
Bradford is amid a renaissance. As Yorkshire’s youngest city and the UK City of Culture 2025 it is a place buzzing with ambition, pride, and creativity.
As a result, the regeneration of the city centre is moving at pace.
ECF – our partnership with Legal & General and Homes England – is working together with the City Council and the West Yorkshire Combined Authority to deliver Bradford City Village.
Bradford City Village will transform the city’s former retail heart into a bold new community.
It’s a plan which leverages 25ha of council- owned land, including the Oastler and Kirkgate shopping centres, to deliver a dynamic new neighbourhood.
Including as many as 1,000 new homes – including affordable homes – the plan encompasses three new community parks, alongside shops, cafes, restaurants, and workspaces.
Safer roads, with landscaped public spaces, and enhanced access to public transport will all contribute to a place which people want to live in and visit. A place where businesses want to locate, invest, and grow.
The city centre has been suffering from an oversupply of retail space. This is not unique to Bradford – towns and cities everywhere need to respond to changing demographics and consumer demand.
Bradford City Village is an opportunity to re-purpose previously retail-led areas and bring them back into positive use.
It’s also a chance to bring people back into the city centre, driving footfall to established and new businesses and enhancing Bradford’s evening and night- time economy.
Bradford City Village
It’s not just about buildings; this is an economic regeneration plan which will re-balance the city centre and keep more money circulating in the local economy.
Importantly, Bradford City Village is one of fifteen places identified in the Strategic Place Partnership between West Yorkshire Combined Authority and Homes England. It demonstrates its importance, as well as helping to unlock funding.
Already, Homes England has committed nearly £30 million of investment – via the Brownfield Infrastructure and Land Fund – to enable the masterplan to be delivered. The Government, Combined Authority, and the Council all recognise the importance and value of Bradford City Village.
The investment will drive significant value itself, but it will also act as an economic and regeneration catalyst for the city. It will boost confidence and attract long- term investment which might otherwise have overlooked Bradford.
Cllr Susan Hinchcliffe, Leader of Bradford Council
It’s part of the same vision – indeed it is closely linked – to One City Park, the state-of-the-art Grade A office which has been delivered by Muse in Bradford. It’s a vision which also elevates the place and creates opportunity for the people and communities.
The community understand this, as well. As we’ve developed the Bradford City Village masterplan we’ve engaged extensively with the people of Bradford, receiving over 400 considered and meaningful responses.
We held community roadshow events, undertook focus groups with accessibility groups, held workshops with local colleges, met with the Bradford Property Forum, Brad- ford Central Mosque, and local businesses.
The engagement has informed our approach, with five distinct principles now guiding our approach: a green neighbourhood, a range of housing types, a range of community amenities, a sustainable community for the future, and respecting heritage.
Bradford City Village is a place for Bradford’s future, anchored by the needs of the community today. It will leverage and support Bradford’s renaissance and encourage investment, growth, and opportunity in one of the UK’s most exciting places.
