Axis and Natural Dimensions are working with developer Artisan. Credit: Glass Canvas

Green light for Saltaire Riverside

2 October 2023 14:15 Neil Tague Comments (0)

Demolition of an HMRC office can now take place, paving the way for 289 homes and 7,700 sq ft of commercial space close to the World Heritage site.

Bradford Council last week gave the go-ahead for the scheme, which is being brought forward by Artisan Real Estate.

Advising Artisan is a professional team featuring Axis Architecture, Adept Engineering, TJC Heritage and ID Planning.

Also to the fore is Natural Dimensions, which prepared the townscape impact assessment and provided designs for a new riverside park, a new central park, canalside plaza, street design, SUDS inclusion, flood compensation zones, and improved multimodal connectivity.

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The applicant secured a unanimous verdict from Bradford Council’s regulatory and appeals committee on 28 September for the plans.

Officers had recommended approvals, noting that “a less than substantial degree of harm would be incurred to the Saltaire World Heritage Site and Saltaire Conservation Area, and this would be outweighed by the public benefits of the development in terms of providing much needed new housing, removing a detractor building, improving views into the World Heritage site, providing new publicly accessible greenspaces and enabling new opportunities for appreciating surrounding heritage assets.

“The development would not result in any adverse implications for the setting of Saltaire Mills, Victoria Works, Roberts Park, 5,6 and 7 Jane Hills, Leeds Liverpool Canal Conservation Area, or Baildon Green Conservation Area.”

Although the normal threshold for affordable housing would be 58 homes for this size of development, the proposed scheme contains only five – however, as officers noted, a viability assessment showed that the “abnormal” costs of developing the site meant a compliant level could not be attained.

Artisan regional director James Bulmer said on Linkedin “what a great unanimous result working with a superb local authority” adding that the first homes will be ready “just in time for City of Culture 2025”.