Bradford Council to appeal Historic England’s Grade II listing of the Richard Dunn Sports Centre

The 1970s building was due to be demolished earlier this year, but in April Historic England announced that it had awarded the leisure centre a Grade II listing – offering it extra protection.

Now it has emerged that Bradford Council, which owns the building, is in discussions with the Government “to make sure the right decision is being made” over the listing.

The Council has touted a number of uses for the site, from being part of a major regeneration of the Odsal stadium area as a national rugby hub to being the location of a planned park and ride.

A new report into the planned park and ride plan reveals that the Council is appealing the decision to list the building.

The document, going before West Yorkshire Combined Authority’s Transport Committee, says the park and ride would see a 750 space car park built on the site currently occupied by the centre.

The report says: “This site now has a listed building on it (which is being appealed by Bradford Council) and further work is required to develop design options that accommodate this status which may take time to resolve.

“Given the issues with the building listing and funding strategy as mentioned above it is proposed that the parking facility will be delivered in a later phase.”

When the building was listed, Historic England said: “Conceived at a time when architectural expression for the building type was the exception rather than the rule, this example stands out within the national context, and has survived well.”

Richard Dunn, named after the Bradford born boxer, was shut in late 2019 after the opening of the nearby Sedbergh Leisure Centre.

A Bradford Council spokesperson confirmed that had spoken to the Government’s Department for Culture, Media and Sports over the listing. They said: “We are in active conversation with the DCMS about the site given that this is a focus for our cultural and sporting regeneration ambitions in Bradford South.

“It’s therefore normal to ask DCMS to make sure the right decision is being made. Once we have more up to date information, we will share it.”