Where will the park be located?
How big will the park be?
What is happening on site?
What will the Park consist of?
What kind of events will it be able to stage?
What are the economic benefits of the Park?
What are the plans for the former police headquarters?
What roads will close?
How will the park be maintained/ looked after?
Will it be safe?
Will there be suitable disabled parking and access?
Artist's Impression of the City Park
Where will the park be located?
The Park will be right in the very heart of Bradford city centre, surrounding the grade 1-listed City Hall.
How big will the park be?
The Park area is 24,690 sq m or six acres. This is equivalent to four football pitches and approximately the same size as St Mark’s Square in Venice. This creates a large space which is big enough to provide both a tranquil environment for those who want to rest and relax, while accommodating visitors and a range of events.
Image comparing the size of the City Park with other parks
What is happening on site?
Following the closure of Channing Way and the opening of the Hall Ings Bus Canopy on 25th July, works have begun to prepare the mirror pool plaza. We are currently digging out for the mirror pool water tanks where part of the former police station stood. The partial demolition of the former police station is necessary to avoid disruption to the cells of the Magistrates Courts service.
Concept sketch of the western edge of the City Park
What will the Park consist of?
The Park will be a vibrant public space for everyone to enjoy. The Park will provide a superb landscape comprising fountains, trees and attractive green spaces making an ideal environment for walking, relaxing and quiet contemplation. The centrepiece of the Park will be the mirror pool, which will provide an interactive space. It can be used both filled with water, but also drained and used for public events.
Made up of individual pools the mirror pool will include striking water features such as 100 fountains, jets and causeways. It will be a shallow pool of water, around 22cm or 8 inches in depth at its deepest point, grading gradually to the edge of the pool. There will be a central fountain which is capable of blasting up to 30m in the air (that's the same height as 7 double-decker buses)
The pool is made of granite and similar high quality materials, which is durable for use in events when dry and a non-slip surface when wet. The total size of the pool is around 4,200 sq. m. or about the size of a football pitch in length.
What kind of events will it be able to stage?
The Park, and the mirror pool space in particular, will be an adaptable environment which is capable of holding events such as concerts, international and Christmas markets, sports events, theatre productions, screenings and community festivals. It is anticipated that the mirror pool area will be a hub for a number of new major events each year in addition to enhancing and supporting established events in the city and district such as the Lord Mayor’s Carnival Parade and Mela.
Artist's Impression of an event in the City Park
What are the economic benefits of the Park?
The Park has been designed to bring jobs and prosperity to Bradford. It will attract visitors and investors, raise land values and help create the landscape for investment. The City Park is an exciting opportunity to change the face of Bradford. The park will have a transformational effect on Bradford city centre and far wider economic, social and environmental benefits for the District.
An independent report by Locum Consulting in November 2008 looked at the impact the Park would have on the visitor economy, and stated the Park could attract up to 2.2m visits each year to the District, bringing up to £80m extra each year to the Bradford economy.
The park will be a catalyst for the creation of a high value business and financial services sector. Investment in striking new public realm has been seen to work excellently elsewhere, for example Place de la Bourse in Bordeaux.
For more detail please visit Why build the City Park
Place de la Bourse in Bordeaux
What are the plans for the former police headquarters?
The northern portion of the former Police Headquarters has been demolished to create additional space for the City Park. The partial demolition is necessary to avoid disruption to the cells of the Magistrates Courts service. The newly exposed facade of the building will be refurbished as part of the City Park works and the remainder of the building is being used as a site office.
What roads will close?
Channing Way was permanently closed to traffic in order to make way for the space needed to create the park. Access to Norfolk Gardens has been further restricted. Other minor traffic alterations have also taken place across the city centre to accommodate this closure and these can be seen here
How will the park be maintained/ looked after?
It is recognised that effective maintenance is crucial to the success of the City Park. The Park and mirror pool will be maintained to a very high standard. The mirror pool will be regularly drained and cleaned.
The mirror pool will be drained every night for road sweepers to drive across and clean the area before the pool is re-filled at dawn.
The Council’s Leisure Services has a good track record of maintaining parks to a high standard, including the successfully regenerated Lister Park, which has won numerous awards and accolades, including being named Britain’s Best Park and gaining a Civic Trust, Green Flag award.
Will it be safe?
Yes. The Park has been designed with safety in mind and to be used by people of all ages, all day long (and into the night) and all year round. A full safety assessment including issues of pollution, child safety, water safety, vandalism prevention, fountain / geyser safety and slips / falls has been carried out. Twenty-four hour staffing and remote surveillance will be provided. The whole park will be well lit with clear ‘sight lines’ and no dark or hidden corners.
Will there be suitable disabled parking and access?
Yes. The Park’s design is geared towards being fully compliant with the Disability Discrimination Act. The exact proportion of disabled parking will be considered alongside the requirement of the city centre as a whole. Sufficient space will also be provided for one-off events taking place. These findings have been closely adopted as an integral part of the design process. Specific consultations have been held with disability groups and feedback from this process has been fed into the final designs.
For more information on the park, please contact us.
