Plans for Bradford’s City of Culture are ramping up ahead of the Programme launch in Autumn 2024. Bradford 2025 is set to deliver more than 1000 new performances and events including 365 artist commissions, a series of major arts festivals as well as exciting national and international collaborations. Its themes are rooted in the unique heritage and character of Bradford and will reveal the magic of the district that is held in its people, its ambition, and above all, its potential. This is a national event - reaching out to the four nations and internationally to put the district, West Yorkshire and the North firmly on the map! Delivering #cultureisourplan, our ten year strategy places us right into the heart of the Northern Creative Corridor and the UK’s cultural ambitions.
Bradford is a Big City with bold plans for the next decade. The city and district are seeing major schemes and investment being delivered ahead of 2025 with Darley Street Market, Bradford Live and One City Park all progressing to completion. Our ambitious proposals to reshape the heart of Bradford are all on-site. Reshaping the streetscape to elevate the city’s appeal to local residents and businesses, and local, national and global visitors, while also increasing opportunities for economic investment. Extending out from City Park, English Cities Fund with MusePlaces is developing proposals for City Village bringing 1,000 homes into the heart of the city. Shipley and Keighley are seeing major schemes come forward to delivery with Towns Fund and wider partners. With the £2.5 billion Network North pledge to support the West Yorkshire mass transit system which will transform connections between Leeds and Bradford, Huddersfield and Halifax, our commitment is to unlock connectivity to boost quality of life, connect neighbourhoods and enable the sustainable and inclusive growth of our economy.
Rail passengers in Bradford will also be connected to more jobs, education and business opportunities, as the Council and its partners progress plans for a new train station in the city. The investment was revealed as part of the government’s launch of Network North. The Department for Transport DfT is building on its promise of building a brand-new railway station in Bradford by providing £400,000 for the Bradford Council to take forward detailed station master planning – with the aim of it becoming ‘the King's Cross of the North'. All of which will unlock the Southern Gateway regeneration of over 120ha, doubling the size of Bradford city centre. Plans are also progressing to electrify the Calder Valley Line between Bradford and Leeds – backed by £500 million – to cut journey times by around 40% from 20 minutes to as low as 12 minutes. Design and delivery of £25m from DfT for a new platform at Forster Square Station to expand the number of direct services to London for the city.
These are just some headlines from a game-changing year for Bradford. There’s lots to talk about at UKREIIF and we’ll see you on site in partnership with WYCA.
There will also be a Bradford Showcase, with anchor sponsors InCommunities, Arup and Schofield Sweeney, taking place across the three days in New Dock – make sure to make contact for details on fringe sessions, key updates and the open house sessions via growth@bradford.gov.uk
More details to follow as our plans progress!
Homepage - Future Bradford (future-bradford.co.uk)
Darley Street - Bradford Markets
Funding boost for new train station in Bradford as part of Network North Plan - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
£24 million boost to deliver improved rail journeys in Bradford - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Integrated Rail Plan for the North and Midlands - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)