What links Bradford born Kiki Dee, with Winston Churchill, the Moody Blues, Rod Stewart and Bradford street cleaners? Read on…
November time and I found myself in cold, wet Bradford, West Yorkshire. Her Outdoors and myself visit Bradford every year, taking the opportunity to visit friends and family. But we usually go in the summer time, when the temperature is higher. Just a few degrees, but it makes a difference. Anyway, this visit I did by myself, hence my idea to explore the new(ish) city centre developments. Bradford has being trying to re-build an image that is constantly being tarnished. The city is trying to generate tourism to bring much needed income into the area, but also to draw locals back into the city centre for their shopping and entertainment needs.
A major new shopping mall development was started in 2004 but was halted due to the recession, only completing in 2015. The Broadway is an extensive new shopping mall that Bradford really (?) needed as they only had one city centre shopping mall, the Kirkgate Arndale Centre… that’s if you don’t count the Foster Square Retail Centre which is less than a mile away…. The city has an history of planning controversies but The Broadway was a huge embarrassment for the city, particularly as what was left for many years was an enormous hole in the ground.
Recently however, a local business man and developer has used a different hole in the ground to created an amazing new development, Sunbridge Wells. Billed as ‘Bradford’s best kept secret’, it’s a subterranean delight for beer and gin lovers, cave dwellers (errr… any out there?) and those that enjoy tradition, history and something different.
Check out the video to find the links!
