REGENERATION: £35m city centre scheme is praised for attracting new companies and jobs to Bradford

The £35 million City Centre Growth Zone, which was set up by Bradford Council in November 2012, has now committed more than £12m to help regenerate the city.

The programme, which is supported by £17.2m of Council resources and £17.6m through the Government’s Regional Growth Fund, offers incentives to businesses looking to expand or relocate to the designated Growth Zone area - a 170 hectare site covering Bradford city centre.

Mike Cartwright, of Bradford Chamber of Commerce, said the local authority should be credited.

"The Growth Zone programme has helped with the city centre regeneration, and with Bradford's emergence out of recession," he said.

"We've seen private sector investment come forward that wouldn't otherwise have happened without the programme. Businesses have been supported, created, and grown as a result of the scheme."

The three-year business rate rebates, worth up to £16,000 for every new job created in the city centre, continue until the end of March, before a more targeted scheme is introduced.

The offer has led to 127 businesses committing to either expand their workforce, move in to, or start their business within the Growth Zone.

COMMENT: GROWTH ZONE WORK MUST BE BUILT ON

Around £7 m has been distributed via the programme's Capital Grants Scheme, where companies were given money towards improving premises or buying equipment to support expansion.

Although the scheme is now closed, with all approved projects to be completed by the end of March, a more targeted programme is being developed to encourage companies to move into empty shops.

"People can see the success of the scheme just by walking around the city centre," said Bradford Council leader David Green.

"The new businesses are largely down to the financial incentives of the Growth Zone, but also down to the entrepreneurial spirit of people within the district."

He said the next step was to work towards a self-sustainable economy.

"I would like to keep some elements of the scheme in some way, and apply the lessons we have learnt to other parts of the district, possibly through partnership with the private sector," he added.

The scheme is set to create 850 jobs, with 269 already confirmed, and private sector investment in the city centre, excluding the Westfield Broadway development, currently stands at £7.5m.

In addition, 50 new businesses - mainly independent ones - have been given start-up support and 16 investors have located businesses in the city centre.

One such new start is the Bradford Brewery and its onsite pub, The Brew Factory, which is due to open next month, bringing back into use a prominent Victorian building and creating ten jobs.

The brewery, in the former Shaw's Moisture Meters headquarters, had long been a dream of its managing director Matthew Halliday, but he has been able to create something even more ambitious with a £150,000 grant from the Growth Zone fund.

He was unaware of the scheme until he was approached by David Robertson-Brown, the director of Gumption Centres which has been promoting the scheme for the Council.

Mr Halliday said Mr Robertson-Brown had given him a tour of the city and was incredibly enthusiastic about the BD1 area. The support meant he could expand plans for a brewery only in an industrial estate, to a brewery with pub in the city centre.

"Without the Growth Zone funding, we wouldn't be launching as big a business, as high profile a business, or a business creating as many jobs," he said.

"So, because of the Growth Zone scheme, Bradford Brewery is launching in the format it is, which is good news for everyone.

"It's a really, really exciting time to be opening a new business here."

Councillor Susan Hinchcliffe, the Council's executive member for employment, skills and culture, said no other place in the UK had anything like the Growth Zone.

"It has been successful in getting empty units filled with some great new independents and as a result, it has increased employment in the city centre.

"And, there's more to come, as businesses hurry to complete their capital works before the end of March deadline," she said.

Mr Robertson-Brown said he was delighted with the project's success.

"We wanted to help create a smarter business community and we have been very hands-on to guide businesses through the process," he said.

"We had one chance of making this happen, and this is still only the start of the journey."

ARTZ-I - Sunbridge Road

FUNDING from the City Centre Growth Zone was said to be the clincher for three arts and retail entrepreneurs to open a new venture.

Mohammed Rasul, Fuad Khan and Tehreem Rasul were supported in their ambitious plans for the Artz-i store at the junction of Sunbridge Road and Kirkgate.

The store sells handicrafts from around the world, including the markets of Cairo and Instanbul.

Mr Rasul said he and his partners at Artzi-i Ltd applied for around £150,000 in rate rebates and capital grants from the Growth Zone, as part of an initial £500,000 investment in the project, which has created six jobs.

"We had been searching for the right venue for some time, and the combination of this prominent corner site, along with the Growth Zone support, made Bradford the most attractive option," he said.
"It made all the difference and the Council were excellent in helping us.

"We wouldn't have been able to take on a project of this scale, it would have been much smaller in a different location."

In addition to sales floors, the Artz-i store is set to feature an art gallery, design studio, manufacturing workshops and a coffee shop.

SETT SOFTWARE LTD - Hustlergate

SETT Software Ltd, which moved to Bradford from Cardiff in 2009, used a £40,000 rate rebate from the Growth Zone to relocate to larger offices in the city centre. 

The software development company moved from Little Germany to the four-storey Parkinson Building in Hustlergate and plans to use all 3,000 sq ft of the Victorian building as it expands its workforce. 

Founder and director Rob Walters said the City Centre Growth Zone was a key aspect of the company's decision to stay in the city centre. 

"The support allowed us to take on and refurbish a semi-derelict city centre property, which had been empty for a number of years, and also to invest in equipment for our Innovation Lab," he said. 

"Since being awarded the funding, we’ve created five new full-time jobs, two at graduate level, and three apprenticeships and one part-time job.

"We also intend to recruit further in the summer.

"Without the Growth Zone funding, our expansion plans over the next three years would have been much slower, and we wouldn’t have been able to invest in the Innovation Lab.

"This prime location is exactly what we needed, and will enable us to expand and grow the business."

OLD BANK PUB - Market Street

A PROMINENT former Bradford city centre pub is set to re-open in March, thanks to a City Centre Growth Zone contribution towards its £500,000 refurbishment.

The Old Bank, in Market Street, closed in 2009, but is now set for a new lease of life thanks to 69 Market Street Ltd - the company which also runs the City Vaults, the Ginger Goose and the Lord Clyde.

Project manager Lisa Mahoney said the company had been trying to take over the site for around two years and could not have done so without the Growth Zone support.

"It's been a long waiting game, but thanks to the regeneration fund from the Council, we now hold the lease for the building," she said.

"It wouldn't have been possible without their backing.

"There is currently a revival in the city centre and North Parade, and it will only get busier when Westfield opens.

"Bradford needs a push, but I think that's happening now."

The company is yet to decide on a name for the new alehouse, which will create a number of new jobs, but Miss Mahoney said the project would be a "traditional and homely" pub, serving cask and real ales and craft and European beers.

BANGKOK THAI - East Parade

BANGKOK Thai, a new restaurant on East Parade, received in the region of £20,000 from the City Centre Growth Zone Fund to help with its opening in October.

The capital grant was used to fully renovate the building and help create the brand new business, which now employs six staff.

Owner See Pang said he would have had “no chance” of completing the project without the Growth Zone.

“We wouldn’t have been able to do any of this without the council’s support,” he said.

“The building was in quite a state, and everything needed doing, it was a full refurbishment.

“Opening a restaurant can be quite high-risk, but the funding helped counter that risk and solve any initial problems.

“The fund gives a chance to new businesses and I’m definitely in favour of it.”

Mr Pang said the restaurant had enjoyed a “really good month” in January, with business really picking up.

“We want to build our reputation in the first year, so we are fully established by the time the Westfield development is open.

“We are only a two-minute walk away, and we’re hoping it will really help the business,” he added.

CAFE JINNAH - GATEHAUS, LEEDS ROAD

THE Jinnah Group of Restaurants is opening its first outlet in Bradford with support from the City Centre Growth Zone.

Cafe Jinnah is set to open in the basement of the landmark Gatehaus building on Leeds Road, with the creation of ten to 15 jobs.

Company directors Saquib Iqbal and Qasim Khan said the new 100-seater restaurant should be ready to open in March or April, after a £155,000 funding boost from the Growth Zone fund.

"We are an expanding family business, based in Bradford, and we have always wanted to open a branch here," said Mr Iqbal.

"This seemed like the ideal opportunity, and we are confident the project will be a success."

Mr Khan said the funding had been used to support a full renovation of the site, which had been empty for many years.

"The Growth Zone support has really helped with the timescales involved in the project," he said.

"Without it, this might have taken us years to set up.

"The scheme helps to bring business into Bradford, and it is a really up and coming area now."

The company currently has six venues in Harrogate, York, Selby, Flaxton, Malton and Leeds.

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