Bradford’s 10 buildings with the biggest potential to act as a catalyst for regeneration
BRADFORD’S Civic Society has drawn up a list of buildings they feel urgently need to be regenerated before they are lost forever. The Telegraph & Argus asked the group, which champions Bradford’s heritage, to identify 10 buildings they hoped to see brought back to life in 2018.
Their list includes a former library, a brutalist skyscraper and a street of derelict Victorian buildings, and the group hopes they can “inspire” developers and building owners.
Bradford Council has said that although it has little power to decide the future of buildings it does not own, it is offering to work with owners. It is hoped that the upcoming Townscape Heritage Scheme, to restore historic buildings, will lead to many city centre properties being regenerated in the near future.
Society chairman Si Cunningham said: “It’s never an easy task to pick out buildings in need of urgent attention when there are so many worthy contenders in Bradford, but we’ve highlighted the ones we think have the biggest potential to act as a catalyst for wider regeneration. ome sites, such as Rawson Place, look set for a transformation in the very near future. But others, like High Point, remain unloved blots on the landscape and don’t offer up any easy or obvious solutions for their transformations. The civic society have had so many messages about that particular brutalist landmark that we’re planning to host a public debate about its future in February.
“We know that there’s no magic wand for bringing many of these buildings back into use, but by identifying at-risk buildings and encouraging conversations about their future usage, we can perhaps inspire developers, landlords and others to take a closer look at the district’s built environment and be a bit more imaginative with their plans.”
The group were asked to identify buildings that have no immediate regeneration plans, ruling out buildings like the Odeon, which is set to be turned into a music venue.
Read the ten buildings selected on the Telegraph and Argus website here.