“People reject what they do not understand because it makes them feel small. They would rather believe in some other reality, even if it is only an illusion, so long as it makes them feel bigger.” Suzy Kassem.
Last August the local paper published this story containing details of a scheme to create a better link between the rail and bus station and the city centre.
Expected to cost between £15.6m and £19.3m, it is likely that the project will involve the demolition of the existing NCP multi storey car park to create a new entrance to the station on Hall Ings.
Transport projects totalling around £100m were trumpeted.
This week Hapless Hinchcliffe announced that now the Council want to build a new station in order to be included on the Northern Powerhouse Rail project, something that I do not expect to see in my lifetime.
The day after she claimed that businesses were queuing up to relocate to Bradford, even the radio station upped sticks to Leeds.
But what about this young population she drones on about; surely the city centre is for them? With plans to build 7,000 new dwellings in the recently published Local Plan, what is city centre living really like?
There are, anecdotally, around 10,000 people living in the city centre. I stumbled across the comments below on a Facebook thread; read on.
The Rent Trap
Last week I had my 4th mortgage declined for a flat in the city centre…I’m passing credit checks each time but the flats are failing based on valuer’s comments! I have tried small flats for £50k, I have tried larger ones at £70k and every time they are coming back with the same issue: “There is little to no demand for the property for owner occupation. Demand for this property will be investor led”.
In short, they will not lend because most of the blocks in Bradford have buy to let mortgages on them. it is impossible for people that work in the city to buy here…All the flats I have applied for have a good LTV (loan to value) of at least 70% and one of them was even 50%. Regardless of this, every flat has been £0 rated on survey!
I should also make clear, the flats I selected had the following criteria: a service charge of less than £1500 PA, sensible ground rent, lease remaining over 100 years, no cladding, no known major issues and have a functioning management company. Sadly, this doesn’t leave many to choose from.
The city centre accounts for broadly a quarter of the commitment made by Bradford Council to Government in the Local Plan; if these numbers do not stack up, nor does the plan. Even then, targeted annual completions are a huge stretch based on historic performance.
Market Failure
…contacted about 4 different estate agents recently who all said that the properties were only really suitable for investors, all for different reasons (most alarmingly, that the building didn’t have the right cladding).
This is surprising as much of the stock in Bradford appears to be conversions of old buildings. I do not see much evidence of significant new build outside of the university footprint.
I always wondered why one of the cheapest…cities in Yorkshire is so dead…at least for first time buyers this should be the place to be. Flats for £50k…why is no one buying?
Ghost Town
In affordability terms, Bradford is one of the cheapest cities in the country and still, young people cannot get a foothold. The Council have plans for a new £23m market but the centre is a ghost town. Where will the customers come from to a central food market?
If Bradford is to recover, it can only be led by the younger population; the truth is that many – thirties and upwards – have simply fled after years of ineptitude. The jobs, shops, bars and the money are all elsewhere.
…a massive problem for the future of the regeneration of Bradford. I’ve always thought that the cheap property prices could be used in the city’s favour… that the city could be marketed as a place that people stuck renting could get their foot on the property ladder.
Even if it wasn’t their ideal location it would become a nice deposit for a future move…if the city centre had more owner occupier then the community would become more settled, and more attractive to others tempted to move into the city centre.
How Safe?
Not only is the city centre deathly, it is also viewed as dangerous and unsafe, especially by women. Once again, tell me how city living works?
I no longer feel safe here after dark, my female neighbour says the same, my male neighbour is concerned about the lack of policing. 70%+ of the flats are single occupants – if we cannot walk home safely, we may well not go out.
When there is a police presence the anti-social behaviour throughout the small hours and vehicles driving and parking anywhere they want stops, so it is entirely possible for the late-night economy and residential to co-exist.
Finally, this from an industry insider.
The bottom has well and truly fallen out of apartment ownership with regards to the lenders’ viewpoint and the surveying companies. Large surveying firms are worried about being sued by the banks for agreeing values should the market crash or buyers default…with cladding issues as a lender they are staying clear if they can by down valuing or tactfully placing £0 value on them.
So, I challenge the Council to respond here because clearly their ambitions of 7,000 new homes are hopelessly, perhaps knowingly, unachievable. Beware the leafy green suburban fields we cherish.
How will they ever achieve any level of regeneration if young people are not allowed a stake in the future of the city? Why trumpet as the youngest in the UK if you offer them no foothold in their future? Have they simply got their heads in the clouds?
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