Little Germany, Bradford: “It’s about setting the standard...and hopefully others will follow suit"

Built between 1850 and 1890 at the height of the city’s textile success, today, the 20-acre neighbourhood is home to 84 buildings.

There are 51 Grade II-listed buildings, the highest concentration of Grade II-listed buildings in the country and three Grade I-Listed buildings.

Predominantly a residential area, efforts are now being made to encourage more businesses, visitors and investment into the district.

While attempts to revitalise the quarter have come and gone over the decades, a new campaign aims to finally unlock Little Germany’s potential – combining its rich heritage with a modern vision for Bradford’s city centre.

Heritage trails, film tours, regular cultural events and the roll out of a series of blue plaques will all be used to promote the area.

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

Impact Hub Bradford, funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund, is leading the new campaign, which has just been launched during Bradford’s UK City of Culture year.

Kamran Rashid, chief executive of Impact Hub Bradford, is keen to see the derelict buildings restored, starting with No. 30 Chapel Street, a former merchant's warehouse that has been empty for almost two decades, and was badly damaged in a fire in 2014.

Dating back to the 1870s, the Chapel Street warehouse spans four floors, with an attractive frieze and cornice details. It retains original features such as open-plan floor plates and basement openings. Having been vacant since the 2000s, repairs are now required to substructures and the roof, as well as internally.

The building has planning permission for office and co-working spaces, complete with café, workshops and a conference space.

It will become Impact Hub Bradford’s new headquarters and Kamran has ambitious plans for the space.

The organisation’s planning application says the work to the building is expected to cost around £2m. Once it is completed around 50 people could be based in the hub.

“We want to create a Google standard office – a top end office for startup businesses, especially those with a social impact,” says Kamran. “We want this to become a destination within Yorkshire and the Humber for people who want to do business for good.”

He adds: “It’s about setting the standard we see Little Germany becoming and hopefully it will encourage others to follow suit. We want to start work next year and open the doors by 2027.”

The new website contains heritage and film trails that people can follow. The film trail celebrates 23 locations in Little Germany that have been used in television programmes and films, including Peaky Blinders, Downton Abbey and The Six Triple Eight Netflix film that came out last year, starring Oprah Winfrey.

Although Kamran is keen to encourage more businesses and retailers into the area, most of the buildings are currently buy-to-let apartments. Last year, Little Germany and Barkerend West in Bradford were named as the cheapest areas to buy property in the UK, with an average property price of £52,909.

According to James Hart, director at estate agent Robert Watts, most of them are currently occupied.

The agent is currently selling a tenanted third floor studio flat in Spectrum House, an unlisted former office building on East Parade, for £60,000.

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"The majority of apartments that we’ve sold in Little Germany over the last 10 years have all been sold to investors, often out-of-town investors,” James says.

"We’ve sold to landlords who live in Manchester, Birmingham, Coventry, and even as far as London.”

He adds: "BD1 from a local landlords’ perspective doesn’t have a great reputation but out-of-town investors tend to look at it differently. They do their due diligence, they like the look for the buildings and the yield they’re going to get.

“With Spectrum House, even when you factor in the service charge and ground rent liabilities, it’s still provides a landlord with a yield of 10 per cent, which is very generous by Bradford standards, usually it’s six or seven per cent.”

The mix of tenants ranges from students to young professional singles and couples, according to James. “They like the vibe generally in Little Germany but they also like the proximity to the station and the Broadway shopping centre and, from their perspective, it’s still far cheaper than Leeds,” he says.

Commenting on Impact Hub Bradford’s latest plans to rejuvenate the area, he says: “I think it’s definitely the right approach. It’s quality over quantity. There’s no shortage of office space in the centre of Bradford so if you’re going to do something, make it high calibre because that’s what people will look for.”

Kamran adds: “Little Germany has got a great deal of potential and I think there’s a lot more that can be done here to give it a sense of community.”