Saltaire art centre plan moves forward with land transfer

A multi million-pound plan to build an arts, heritage and technology centre over a car park in a UNESCO World Heritage Site has moved a step closer.

Bradford Council officials have approved the transfer of the Caroline Street car park in the village of Saltaire to Shipley College.

The move comes despite 141 objections during a public consultation and continued concern about the scheme’s impact on the historic village.

Alex Ross Shaw, the council’s spokesman on regeneration and planning, said the centre would help bring to life part of founder Sir Titus Salt’s “original vision” for Saltaire.

The land transfer is one of the final red-tape hurdles before construction can begin on the centre, which already has planning permission.

The new arts centre would provide a permanent home for the Saltaire Collection, which is made up of more than 7,000 artefacts and stories chronicling the history of Saltaire village, which are currently stored at the college.

The building would include classrooms, exhibition and event spaces and new public toilets.

Residents had raised concerns about the loss of one of Saltaire’s busiest car parks, pressure on the tightly constrained village streets, the size and appearance of the development, and the potential erosion of Saltaire’s protected character.

Presenting a report to Bradford Council decision makers, Liz Kemp, the council’s head of property and estates, acknowledged the strength of feeling but said most responses challenged the project itself rather than the mechanics of the transfer.

“The majority of the objections… related to the end use and the development of the scheme rather than the transactional element of the transfer,” she told a meeting of the executive on Tuesday.

Kemp said the land would be transferred at “nil value”, effectively handing it over for free, reflecting the public-benefit purpose of the project.

A report presented to officials ahead of the meeting at Bradford’s City Hall said the new development “will increase visitor time in Saltaire, provide an event space with public toilets and enhance the residents’ interaction with their heritage”.

It was “seen as a positive step that will bring vibrancy and expansion to the Saltaire village”, the report added, stressing the council had “addressed the objections raised”.

The meeting heard the development was backed by £5.39m of Towns Fund investment and would strengthen Saltaire’s cultural and economic offer.

Also present at the meeting was Maggie Smith, representing the Saltaire Collection, who described the project as vital to safeguarding the village’s social history.

Ms Smith told councillors: “It’s a culmination of many, many years of work from the local community… ensuring that people’s stories are retained, not just now, but in 100 and 200 years’ time.”

She said the new centre would finally give the Saltaire Collection a permanent, accessible home after decades of makeshift accommodation.

Ross Shaw added the project aligned with the educational vision laid down by founder Sir Titus, adding: “This will allow Shipley College to expand and bring vibrancy to the village.”

Councillors voted to approve the transfer, enabling the scheme to move into its final funding and contracting stages.

Shipley College initially received planning permission in February last year to build a new community and arts centre at the site.

However, a petition for the decision to be reconsidered was signed by 2,000 people, after it was revealed a body which advises UNESCO had raised concerns about the scheme.

The college said those issues had been addressed in the final proposals.

Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, and catch up with the latest episode of Look North.