THE head of a national town planning group believes a high speed rail link would completely transform Bradford.

The president of the Royal Town Planning Institute, Ian Tant, was given a tour of Bradford city centre yesterday. He was shown a number of major re-development projects, both completed such as St George’s Hall and City Park, and in the pipeline, such as the proposed site of a new market on Darley Street.

During a visit he discussed the current and emerging plans for the district.

Other stops on the tour were Little Germany and The Broadway shopping centre.

He also discussed the Future Place Programme. Bradford is one of five cities chosen for the programme, which is run by the Royal Institute of British Architects, Chartered Institute of Housing, Local Government Association and the Royal Town Planning Institute.

Green light for one of Bradford's biggest regeneration projects as Darley Street market plan approved

The initiative will “unlock place-making potential through quality in design, the promotion of best practice and innovative delivery using cross-sector partnerships and knowledge sharing at a local level”.

Mr Tant met with Council bosses to discuss projects such as the St George’s Hall refurbishment.

After his tour, Mr Tant said: “Bradford is a city with huge potential, it has a rich heritage, great buildings and some really diverse areas within the city centre.

“The centre has a great potential to create new jobs, new homes and enhance and improve the city’s economy. It does really rely on a follow through on the current levels of investment and Government support.

“The massive change would be a Northern Powerhouse Rail Station. There really needs to be a high speed connection to the Leeds/Manchester route in Bradford. If that happens Bradford will have almost unburdened potential to grow.”

When asked how Bradford compared to other cities, he said London, Manchester and Leeds would always attract high investment because of their roles as regional centres.

He added: “Just below those cities, Bradford is up there. The work being done to regenerate the city is brilliant.

“City Park is a fantastic space and is already really well used. With the NEC coming to the former Odeon, improvements with the new market and the regeneration of the old market space, there is real potential to make the city centre a great place people can live and work.”

When asked about the high number of empty warehouses and mills in the city, he said: “A lot of industrial cities have these buildings. It is important they re-use these buildings - they are part of the unique character of Bradford. There are some excellent examples of conversions into residential use. This encourages other businesses and developers to see what they can make with other buildings. A lot of these buildings could be re-purposed.”

Councillor Alex Ross Shaw, Bradford Council’s executive member for Regeneration, Planning and Transport, said: “We took him to key sites in the city like Darley Street, where the new market will be, Oastler Square, where the new city village will be, and Chain Street in Goitside. We spoke about where we want to take the city, work to re-purpose heritage buildings for new uses and bringing quality housing into the city centre. We’re always keen to get feedback from groups like this.”