Multi-million pound plan to turn Victorian warehouse into apartments begins

The Canal 30 scheme involves three connected buildings on Canal Road in Bradford city centre that have been empty for decades.

Under the plans, the buildings will be refurbished and extended to create 70 city centre flats.

The development, which is being supported with public money, was first proposed years ago, with planning approved in 2015. But now work on the building has finally started – and is due to be completed by spring 2026.

The four-storey 28-32 Canal Road, which is in the city’s Cathedral District Conservation Area, was built in 1884 by the Fattorini family who became famous for providing jewellery to The Queen and other esteemed clients, as well as creating the design for the FA Cup.

It has stood empty for decades, but around 10 years ago proposals were put forward to convert the building into apartments.

The most recent scheme was dubbed Canal 30, and is expected to cost more than £8m.

Over £1.8m of the costs will come from West Yorkshire Combined Authority’s (WYCA) Brownfield Housing Fund – a pot of cash that can be used to kickstart long delayed housing schemes.

Projects that receive funding need to prove they would be too costly to carry out without a public subsidy, and be on brownfield sites or involve the conversion of existing buildings.

The developers behind the scheme is Canal 30 Apartments Company Ltd.

A report to WYCA last year said the scheme will also be funded through a loan from Homes England and developer contributions.

The same report said work was due to start last September and be completed by December 2025.

It would bring 70 construction jobs to the city centre during the build period.

But the September start date passed without any obvious work.

After workers arrived on site in recent weeks, the Local Democracy Reporting Service asked WYCA for an update on the timeline for the development.

They confirmed work on the building has now started, and is due to be completed by May 2026.

The residential conversion had previously been described as a development of “chic, London style apartments” just minutes’ walk from The Broadway Shopping Centre and Forster Square rail station.

The development will be constructed to low carbon development principles.