Phase one of Bradford City Village advances
The final phase of public consultation on the ECF-backed project is underway, while new CGIs of the neighbourhood have been released.
A detailed planning application for phase one will be submitted later this summer, alongside an outline planning application for the rest of the site.
Incommunities has also been selected as ECF’s preferred funding partner to deliver the first phase of townhouses for sale and rent at Bradford City Village, subject to a final legal agreement.
Work on phase one is expected to start in spring 2026, while demolition of the Oastler site should go ahead this autumn.
The wider project team for Bradford City Village includes 5plus Architects, re-form Landscape Architecture, Avison Young, Cushman & Wakefield, and Turner & Townsend.
The construction of 900 city centre homes across three sites, Kirkgate, Oastler, and Chain Street, is part of the city’s extensive regeneration efforts.
Detailed plans for phase one of the neighbourhood show the repurposed commercial area will include:
- The creation of 33 townhouses on the Chain Street site, centred around a new community green, featuring a mix of two and three-bedroom homes designed to suit a range of household sizes and needs
- A further 64 two- and three-bedroom townhouses on the northern Oastler site, arranged around a series of courtyards and green spaces
- Supporting infrastructure including safer roads, landscaped public spaces and active travel routes that promote walking and cycling to help create a sustainable community with health and wellbeing at its heart.
Later phases of the neighbourhood will include more than 300 apartments on the southern half of the Oastler site alongside approximately 400 apartments on the Kirkgate site.
Members of the public are invited to complete a questionnaire via the online consultation www.bradfordcityvillage.com.
Credit: 5plus Architects, re-form and DeMaterial
The project has secured major inward investment, including £13.2m in-principle from the West Yorkshire Combined Authority, and £30m of government funding via Homes England.
Cllr Susan Hinchcliffe, Llader of Bradford Council said: “Over the last 18 months, ECF has been working with Bradford Council to develop the masterplan, following extensive public consultation and engagement with hundreds of local people. This is the final phase of consultation ahead of our planning application and we are encouraging everyone to get involved.
“City Village shows the direction of the city centre for the next 10 years – quality housing, more public green spaces and a shift away from an over-reliance on traditional retail that has now changed forever.
“Our vision is to create a healthy, sustainable and community-friendly neighbourhood. While housing is at the heart of these plans, City Village will also create opportunities for new independent retail, cafes, bars and business spaces.”
Simon Dew, development director at ECF, explained: “Bradford is investing at an unprecedented level in its transport and public infrastructure, as well as major capital developments, to drive future success and realise its full economic potential.
“City Village is about responding to these new opportunities by balancing retail against other uses that will bring more people into the city centre.
“These latest images reveal how that might look, so we’re really keen to hear what people think about them before the masterplan is finalised. We are looking forward to progressing the designs and working with Incommunities, alongside the project team, to deliver phase one.”
Rachael Dennis, chief executive at Incommunities added: “This is a flagship project for our city, and we’re proud to be part of it, delivering the first phase as new affordable homes.
“As Bradford’s largest housing provider and an organisation deeply rooted in the district, no one is more invested in seeing the city centre thrive than we are.”
