'Modern market has given traditional traders new lease of life'

Bradford's long-awaited Darley Street Market opened in July

Bradford's independent traders had high hopes for a brighter future at the city's new Darley Street Market.

After several delays the site opened with great fanfare earlier this summer. But, now the honeymoon period has ended, has it had delivered on its promises?

Even after the lunchtime rush, footfall in Darley Street is noticeably up on the former Oastler Centre and Kirkgate Market, with a wide variety of customers browsing the stalls or stopping for a bite to eat on the top floor.

Abdul Ghafoor's mobile phone stall was one of the last stalls standing in the Kirkgate Market before it closed in June.

When the BBC spoke to him in April, trade was so bad the city's cash-strapped council had given his family business a discount on their rent.

He was "optimistic" the move to Darley Street could secure his family's future for another 21 years and beyond.

When asked how things are going now, the 39-year-old takes a moment to carefully choose his words before labelling it an "improvement".

"Before, we were typically year-on-year 10% down. But we still haven't reached pre-Covid levels.

"We are trying to remain positive. It's a wait-and-see game."

Darley Street stretches over three floors, with a rooftop bar

Jim Fewtrell admitted his perfume and cosmetics stall in the Kirkate Market was hanging by a thread before the move to Darley Street.

Watching the shop in his absence today, Lynn Hodgon recalls the decline of what was once the city's main shopping hub.

"We were going home drained because you were that tired and fed up, that's how quiet it was."

Customers appeared to have deserted the Kirkgate Market in its final months, with Mr Fewtrell believing many of them thought it was already shut.

Today, Ms Hodgon has to wait for a quiet period before she can spare a minute to talk.

The business has been given a new lease of life in 21st Century surroundings, she says, with the first few weeks of trading "like going back years and years".

"I have never seen as many faces. They are coming from all over just to have a nosey. Let's hope it does keep up.

"It has been positive, definitely."

Pop Specs is one of several new businesses giving Darley Street a go

While the new market houses traditional stalls from greengrocers to butchers and hardware, its attempts to appeal to modern businesses and younger customers are obvious.

The upstairs food court offers street food and a bar selling locally brewed craft beer. The seeds of gentrification have been planted.

Pop Specs is one of several new businesses in the Darley Street market. Although situated just opposite Mr Fewtrell's perfume and cosmetics stall, staff member Vinnie Chambers is more lukewarm about the start to life here.

"Not amazing," says the 19-year-old.

"Bradford is still growing.

"It's becoming a little bit more modern, it's just the beginning."

In the food hall, the mood is brighter.

At Friesday, siblings Ahtishaam and Falaq Khan say that while footfall has slowed since the market's opening few weeks, weekends remain particularly busy and the feedback has been positive.

"Customers are saying it's what Bradford needed," says Falaq.

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