IN Brief:
- Phase one approval covers 97 townhouses, with outline consent in place for wider redevelopment.
- The first homes are planned across Chain Street and the northern Oastler plot, with new courtyards and a community green.
- Later phases include apartment-led delivery at the southern Oastler and Kirkgate sites, plus retained and new mixed-use space.
Bradford Council has secured planning permission for the first detailed phase of its City Village regeneration, clearing the way for a residential-led redevelopment of the “Top of Town” area around Chain Street and the former Oastler and Kirkgate shopping centres. The project is being progressed with ECF, the regeneration partnership between Homes England, Legal & General, and Muse.
Phase one consent covers 97 townhouses split across two sites. The Chain Street parcel will deliver 33 two- and three-bedroom homes arranged around a new community green, while the northern Oastler plot will deliver 64 two- and three-bedroom homes set around a series of courtyards and landscaped green space. The approved package also includes associated enabling and place-making works, including changes intended to improve local access, public realm, and walking and cycling links.
Incommunities has been named as preferred funding partner for the first homes for sale and rent, subject to final legal agreement. The appointment gives the opening phase a defined delivery route, while the wider scheme advances through the outline component of the hybrid consent.
The wider City Village masterplan spans the former Oastler and Kirkgate retail sites and is positioned as a long-term reset of Bradford’s former commercial core. Outline approval covers later phases expected to introduce apartment-led development, with proposals indicating more than 300 apartments on the southern part of the Oastler plot and around 400 apartments at Kirkgate, alongside scope for retail, leisure, and business space.
Demolition and site clearance will be staged around the existing closures. The former Oastler shopping centre closed permanently in June 2025, and demolition is expected to begin later in 2026. The Kirkgate shopping centre is due to close later in 2026 ahead of demolition towards the end of the year, to release land for subsequent phases.
Funding identified to date includes £13.1m of in-principle support from the West Yorkshire Combined Authority and £30m of Government funding via Homes England. A further detailed planning application for phase two is expected later in 2026, setting up the next tranche of works across the remaining plots.
