New promotion push for city's former textile hub

An area of Bradford filled with Victorian buildings which once formed the thriving hub of the city's wool industry is to be promoted in a new campaign.

Little Germany is home to 55 listed sites, but several businesses have moved out of the area, leaving many of the 19th Century buildings to be converted into flats.

A spokesperson for Impact Hub Bradford said a team had been set up to encourage more businesses, visitors and investment into the area.

James Mason, chair of the Little Germany Steering Group, said: "If this was anywhere else in the world, it would be revered, promoted and celebrated."

Heritage trails, film tours, regular cultural events and the roll-out of a series of blue plaques would all be used to promote the area, Impact Hub Bradford said.

A new website had also been launched to highlight the area, its history and buildings, and new Little Germany branding had been produced to be used on signs and promotional material.

Meanwhile, two empty buildings on Chapel Street would be brought back into public use in the coming years, according to a spokesperson for the organisation.

The campaign would have the motto "This is the story of Bradford in stone."

At a launch event on Thursday, Mr Mason said the area "might have lost a bit of its soul over the years".

"Depending on which time of year you come, you will see the area in a different light – quite literally.

"People in Bradford don't often shout about the city's successes. It is not that they hide their light under a bushel, it is that they hide that bushel under another bushel.

"It is time we celebrate Little Germany as an important part of Bradford's regeneration."

Mr Mason, who is also chief executive of West & North Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce, said the new campaign coincided with "palpable momentum" to improve Bradford, spurred on by the City of Culture 2025 celebrations and the promotion of Bradford City's promotion to League One.

Kamran Rashid, who founded Impact Hub Bradford, said the success of the venture showed Little Germany was a good base for business and creative groups.

Impact Hub had plans to expand into 30 Chapel Street – a long derelict building that would offer much more space, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS).

Last year, a planning application to convert the building into office and co-working spaces, complete with cafe, workshops and a conference space, was approved by Bradford Council.

Mr Rashid pointed out that Little Germany was built by European immigrants, adding: "Bradford is seen as a city of immigrants, and many say that in a negative way.

"But if you look at history, German migrants came and built this area and helped Bradford become the great city it became."

Si Cunningham, chair of Bradford Civic Society, said there was "a lot of optimism" around Bradford, but he added that promoting the city could be "exhausting and character building".

"A lot of people don't want to give up on Bradford because there are so many opportunities," he said.

Mr Cunningham explained that there were plans to refurbish existing blue plaques in the area, as well as rolling out new ones marking the area's history, such as the foundation of the Independent Labour Party there in 1893.

There would also be a number of heritage days, he said.

David West, former director of Little Germany Action, said: "It is a stunning place, but it could be so much better."

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