City Park brings in £1m extra in trade (From Bradford Telegraph and Argus)
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220,000 more visitors spending their cash - and that 'should attract investors'
9:00am Tuesday 11th September 2012 in News
By Kathie Griffiths, T&A Reporter
News that Bradford’s City Park has generated more than £1m in new trade since it opened in March will now help bring new investors into the centre, it is claimed.
Councillor Susan Hinchcliffe, Bradford Council’s portfolio holder for employment, skills and culture, said the statistics compiled for the Council by independent economic consultants Ekosgen would give new businesses a good reason to come to the city.
According to Ekosgen, visitors have spent an extra £1.3m in Bradford in the six months since the vibrant £24m City Park opened and it has attracted about 220,000 more people.
The study said the extra spending has brought about an upturn in trade for local businesses including the Kirkgate shopping centre which has reported “a significant increase in footfall”.
Coun Hinchcliffe said: “We have seen with our own eyes more people being drawn into the centre and visiting City Park but we still needed to make sure our investment was bearing fruit.
“The study has shown us that this is the case. People are coming in from all different cultures and backgrounds. It’s great news we are seeing an increase in spending in our shops, our restaurants, in hotels.”
And she added the report’s results would themselves be a big attraction for new investors.
“We’ve got the proof now that spending in Bradford city centre is on the increase. We can say to potential investors look this is what has happened for our existing businesses and this is what it could do for you. This could be your business. We are expecting an extra spend of more than £2m in the whole year.”
The visitor figures were based on numbers of people brought into City Park for special events and a regular head count.
City Park features a 3,600 sq m mirror pool and 100 dancing fountains and was funded by Bradford Council, the now abolished regional development agency Yorkshire Forward and the Regional Transport Board.
Comments(19)
BD16
says...
11:44am Tue 11 Sep 12
I went into Bradford for the first time in ages on Saturday and the park really was very busy and everybody was having a good time.
In my case I would say it was £5 that I spent in Bradfords shops that would otherwise have gone elsewhere but if Bradford had a better retail offering then I would spend a lot more money there rather than a few bits that I needed to get.
MontyLeMar
says...
11:46am Tue 11 Sep 12
flashdonut
says...
11:56am Tue 11 Sep 12
.
Stop talking balony.
.
However, the final figure of £29million was money well spent. the council (for once) deserve a pat on the back. A fancy puddle? In a recession? But it has worked, and worked well.
.
Now sort teh Alhambra (any way - just stop it rotting) and the City Centre has the foundations it needs to progress.
Pity Poor Bradford
says...
12:05pm Tue 11 Sep 12
http://www.bradfordc
hamber.co.uk/news.as
p?id=1&newsid=1120
which says "An independent report by Locum Consulting predicted that City Park will attract 2.2 million visits each year, bringing an extra £80m annually to the local economy"
JAtkinson
says...
12:10pm Tue 11 Sep 12
I agree with above poster (as long as they meant Odeon, not Alhambra) that something needs to be done and, IMHO, it needs to be saved. looking out from by the big screen, what an amazing tour of architecture you'd have by simply turning your head from city Hall to Alhambra to Odeon. Would be amazing to have a cultural quarter with Media Museum, Alhambra and a John Peel North centre in the Odeon. This could give Bradford a great reputation in the north for culture.
However, back to the article - good news for Bradford with the tantalising promise of more to come.
Pity Poor Bradford
says...
12:18pm Tue 11 Sep 12
So events and entertainment = increased footfall.
Hmmm. Can you think of anywhere near City Park that was designed for entertaining crowds of people?
How about the Odeon?
It's not rocket science.
MontyLeMar
says...
12:28pm Tue 11 Sep 12
Pity Poor Bradford wrote:Couldn't agree more but I'm afraid the morons at Langtree think nothing short of complete destruction is needed. Their vision is obscured by large £ signs and to hell with Bradford's history.
JAtkinson, the manager of the Arndale centre said there was an increased footfall when there was an event on at City Park.
So events and entertainment = increased footfall.
Hmmm. Can you think of anywhere near City Park that was designed for entertaining crowds of people?
How about the Odeon?
It's not rocket science.
Bone_idle18
says...
12:28pm Tue 11 Sep 12
Clowny
says...
12:40pm Tue 11 Sep 12
The City Park was reported as bringing in millions of visitors spending £80,000,000 each year. In comparison to the claims, it's a failure of almost epic proportions.
This year we've had the official opening, the Olympics in the UK on the big screen, the Paralympics and the torch arrival (a once in a lifetime event). So 220,000 people in total we're told, yet 30,000 of this figure was due to the torch arrival, 10,000 for the opening, so we're left with less than 180,000 in the 6 busiest months of the year and no comparison to how many people attended Centenary Square before the fountain was added.
We've not been told what the cost for events, maintenance, cleaning and policing is in the same period to deduct off the £1,300,000. There would be no surprise if the figure was halved after those costs.
bobby98007
says...
12:44pm Tue 11 Sep 12
MontyLeMar wrote:They are quite right though, knocking the bloody thing down is by far the best option for the Odeon building, it should have happened years ago.
Pity Poor Bradford wrote:Couldn't agree more but I'm afraid the morons at Langtree think nothing short of complete destruction is needed. Their vision is obscured by large £ signs and to hell with Bradford's history.
JAtkinson, the manager of the Arndale centre said there was an increased footfall when there was an event on at City Park.
So events and entertainment = increased footfall.
Hmmm. Can you think of anywhere near City Park that was designed for entertaining crowds of people?
How about the Odeon?
It's not rocket science.
The building isnt viable for an entertainment area, i seem to remember an "o2 Acedemy" being touted, but they wouldnt be able to get the interior or exterior to a fit state to make it a good financially rewarding option.
The space the Odeon occupys could be used as a venue, but the building would still have to be flattened anyway.
Thee Voice of Reason
says...
12:58pm Tue 11 Sep 12
angry bradfordian
says...
1:21pm Tue 11 Sep 12
What I'm failing to grasp is where all this additional money is being spent and how it can be proved to be directly attributable to the park.
The nearest thing to a department store (TJ Hughes) shut down in the period, the M&S seems to get smaller by the week and no significant shops have opened.
The BBC story states that the Thai restaurant had a 40% increase in business, but if I'm not mistaken they were complaining that business had halved during construction!
Prisoner Cell Block A
says...
1:23pm Tue 11 Sep 12
So a sarnie and a coffee then home.
Hardly an upturn in RETAIL income, not a surprise due to lack of retail outlets, in turn not a surprise due to inept council policy and implementation.
Thee Voice of Reason
says...
1:32pm Tue 11 Sep 12
Prisoner Cell Block A wrote:Thats pretty much it, a success in the council and T&A's eyes. It wouldn't suprise me if the money was made up in extra parking fines.
1,000,000 / 220.000 = 4.54 per person. So a sarnie and a coffee then home. Hardly an upturn in RETAIL income, not a surprise due to lack of retail outlets, in turn not a surprise due to inept council policy and implementation.
basil fawlty
says...
1:55pm Tue 11 Sep 12
Albion.
says...
2:12pm Tue 11 Sep 12
basil fawlty wrote:I wouldn't even go there, If everything you suggest is carried out, Bradford will never compare with Leeds. Bradford's very few city apartments are actually full of persons from the "eastern block" if recent court cases are to be believed.
The park is a good step in the right direction. Now we need Westfield and the Odeon sorting. But i think the council needs to make the rest of the city centre look good. They need to make sure new buildings look exceptional and set bradford apart from leeds which is ful of new monstrosities they call appartments but look like something from the old eastern block.
MontyLeMar
says...
3:44pm Tue 11 Sep 12
bobby98007 wrote:"The space the Odeon occupys could be used as a venue, but the building would still have to be flattened anyway."
MontyLeMar wrote:They are quite right though, knocking the bloody thing down is by far the best option for the Odeon building, it should have happened years ago.
Pity Poor Bradford wrote:Couldn't agree more but I'm afraid the morons at Langtree think nothing short of complete destruction is needed. Their vision is obscured by large £ signs and to hell with Bradford's history.
JAtkinson, the manager of the Arndale centre said there was an increased footfall when there was an event on at City Park.
So events and entertainment = increased footfall.
Hmmm. Can you think of anywhere near City Park that was designed for entertaining crowds of people?
How about the Odeon?
It's not rocket science.
The building isnt viable for an entertainment area, i seem to remember an "o2 Acedemy" being touted, but they wouldnt be able to get the interior or exterior to a fit state to make it a good financially rewarding option.
The space the Odeon occupys could be used as a venue, but the building would still have to be flattened anyway.
.
.
I wouldn't argue with that but something of the same style is needed to keep the "dome" theme going and make the area look architecturally attractive. We don't need another office block or hotel and flats. A music venue would be splendid, something along the lines of Rio's. That place brings or brought people in from all over Europe.
justjustice
says...
5:23pm Tue 11 Sep 12
Com on already, Bradford may be close to Leeds, and even though to be the same place by some southern MPs, but it's nothing compared to it! Bradford needs to earn a name for itself, and so far all it's earned is being a Curry Capital, and even then the last two times the event had to be held in Leeds thanks to the council's failings!
I think most of us would rather see Westfield brought up to stand for the decimation it's caused by mothballing the shopping centre!
Al Spade says...
11:43am Tue 11 Sep 12
Note to the T&A. The pond cost over £30m not the £24m you say in your report!