Bradford was last week branded dangerous, ugly & boring topping a Travelodge poll of least fancied British tourist destinations. Lucy Bannister responded to our call for to put the case for Bradford as anything but…
There’s nothing like a bit of adversity to bring together a community in the spirit of incredulity. ‘Apparently we live in Britain’s most dangerous city!’ announced Dolphin’s Haydn Wilcox during the band’s set at the Bradford Playhouse . ‘And the most boring!’ I countered back. ‘Yeah’ said Haydn ‘the most dangerous and the most boring. I don’t get that. How can somewhere be dangerous AND boring?’
My evening in Bradford certainly wasn’t boring, and on this occasion was not at all dangerous. The next day my head was a bit sore, but if I’d been sprightlier I could have popped along to the farmer’s market in Saltaire. Instead I went to the thrice-weekly market in Bingley to get some Yorkshire fine cheeses.
This is why we moved to Bradford, for a better quality of life and a sense of community at a price we can afford. We‘ve certainly found that here, but it’s easy to be dismissive of the city centre and its crater. This is daft. If you want posh go to Leeds, if you want to buy your pound shop products in peace and without a pretentious haircut standing in your way then come to Bradford, home to the biggest selection of pound shops on the planet! It might not be pretty but it is practical.
Bradford was the wool capital of the world but when its industry crashed, it burnt. Literally. The 1970s saw a trashing of the city as many buildings suffered devastating fires. Its saving grace now is that areas like Little Germany didn’t get demolished, just abandoned. The Victorian glories, the imposing architecture of the Industrial Revolution, the dark satanic mills that were left standing, are what makes it strikingly beautiful. Catch Bradford just after it’s rained, with the sun bursting out of an imposing dark cloud and it will take your breath away: the drama of the hills, the depth of its history, the genuineness of its people.
Look at Little Germany for a moment. And Bradford Cathedral with its William Morris stained glass windows; The Alhambra and the fading glory of the Bradford Odeon
Bradford University has a world renowned Peace Studies department, the largest in the world, and has the 1 in 12 club cementing the city as a hot bed of radical and activist education and activity. Saltaire is a UNESCO World Heritage site: an intact and living model village built by Victorian philanthropist Titus Salt. Bingley’s Five Rise Locks opened in 1774 and continue to be a mind-boggling feat of engineering. The Bradford Mela is the biggest outside Asia and if you like curry you are in heaven here. If you like film, Bradford is the world’s first ever City of Film and has the amazing National Media Museum
But therein lies Bradford’s contradiction – residents of the City of Film are having to fight for the survival of its beautiful 1930s Odeon cinema, the last remaining from an era when Bradford truly was a city of cinema
Bradford is a city of many faiths and cultures yet it still has two British National Party councillors.
What is all that about? It’s about a city that needs to learn to love itself more. For what it is and who it is. Because it is ours, and it is home.
What do you think of Bradford? Do you agree it’s Dangerous Ugly and Boring? Let us know in the comments box.
What about the amazing Alhambra Theatre and St George’s Hall in the centre of Bradford ? Don’t forget these fantastic venues under the Bradford Theatres umbrella: http://www.bradford-theatres.co.uk bringing you the best in live entertainment and the biggest panto in the region !
Leeds has the Holbeck Urban Village; we have the Bradford Urban Crater…world’s biggest though 🙂
The Will Alsop reimagining of Bradford made me hopeful and optimistic for my hometown, but sadly it’s now a place lacking hope, direction and vision…it’s not all the council’s fault – it’s ours.
The reaction on Facebook has been telling. Have a look at the group The UK’s Ugliest City for many photos and comments about the original story.
There’s also a Save Our Odeon group which has been very active in protesting about the wiping out of our historic landmark.
Bradford is not ugly, boring or dangerous. It is an incredibly varied place, with areas as beautiful as others are ugly. We suffer from a lack of marketing about the real positives of Bradford, and all people seem to know about it is the bad press created by the BNP’s actions on one day almost a decade ago.
Its underground arts scene is second to none, as the people of Bradford are taking over. And their ideas and energy put the Council to shame.
I went to see a band in Bradford last year and I have to say it WAS a scary experience.
The bottom end of town near St Georges Hall was desolate – it reminded me of the dark days of the seventies in Leeds. We were scared of going into the city centre after dark in those days, seriously. There was no-one around on this night in early summer and it was intimidating and depressing.
The pubs down that end of town were completely empty at 7.30 on a Saturday night, really not good. Plus at the end of the night, there were no taxis to be seen – I was glad I was on my own and not with my wife.
What has happened to Bradford? In the eighties it was actually a better night out than Leeds. Lack of investment over many, many years are now showing and the city is sorely lacking vision and leadership.
You were in the wrong place Phil. The Playhouse is the best night out in Bradford or Leeds, that’s in Little Germany and is packed every weekend. The best places to go in Bradford are not the ones that stare you in the face when you get off the train, unlike Leeds. It’s a negative in some ways, but it keeps the best places feeling underground. The Playhouse, The Mill, Zuu, the Bus Stop Bar, the 1in12, these are where the people who enjoy living in Bradford go.
It is a relevant point, Phil, about the streets being so quite in the evening. It is a concern, and it did put me off for a while.
But now I have found out what great stuff lies beneath the surface – the places that Positive Bradford mentions above (particularly Bradford Playhouse), plus The Love Apple, Delius and the New Beehive, all of which are good pubs and have good gigs and club nights too – then it is worth venturing out.
Don’t be put off, get a group of mates to go with you or pop a taxi number in your phone. Taxis come much quicker in Bradford than Leeds, and are cheaper! If you head to Bradford Interchange there are always plenty there. The best stuff never comes to you on a plate, you have to go find it!
Scary…can be. End up in Hospital if you walk around by yourself at night?…40% chance. Boring, no.
I suppose it depends if we are talking about the Center or the District. The actual area of Bradford is Beautiful.
Im pretty sure that if Leeds wasn’t on its doorstep Bradford would be a different place now. The amount of money that Yorkshire Forward and Government has given to Bradford is small is comparison to its neighbours…I pretty much think they have given up on it.
I would have to say that Bradford is dangerous and it is ugly.
Why is it dangerous?
Because the region is poverty stricken. High rates of unemployment and low paid jobs for those in work have led many people into crime and/or drug abuse to compensate their deprived existence. SOME of these people are dangerous.
Why is it ugly?
Wastefield (Westfield)is hardly idyllic is it? 5 YEARS OF RUBBLE. If the hole itself wasn’t bad enough, the Council ripped out half of the city centre which already had shops and businesses etc. that has cost Bradford millions of pounds in loss of trade. Talk about self destruction.
The Odeon has become nothing less than a joke. There are trees growing from the roof. It’s been derelict for over a DECADE! Add all the derelict buildings and empty shops to the equation and we can safely conclude that Bradford is ugly.
BRADFORD IS NOT BORING.
The Pictureville and IMAX cinemas are arguably the best in the country. Probably the best curry in the UK too. There are some excellent nights out to be had. The Bradford Playhouse is fast becoming the city’s premier alternative night out.
Basically, the Council and the University have a lot to answer for. All Bradford Uni want to do is isolate all their students from Bradford and keep them in locked up in their precious ‘campus grounds’. They offer NO arts courses, so already they are turning away thousands of potential students that could be spending money in Bradford. I could go on for ages, but it’s getting late.
Most of Bradford’s big wig decision makers don’t even live in Bradford, so they don’t really care whether the city is successful or not. They just want to take their fat pay cheques home, (probably somewhere like Harrogate).
Bradford needs a new lease of life, with some forward thinking leaders. Hopefully it will happen soon. God, can we sink any lower?
Sorry “The truth hurts”, but you can’t blame the university for “not having arts courses”. Bradford uni grew out of a technical college, so has always specialised in these sort of areas. Why should it try and be all things to all men (and women)? Most universities don’t run courses in every single subject under the sun. Universities wont jump on a bandwagon and create a department out of nothing, they evolve out of the subject base they started with. Engineering and technology in the 60’s led to computing, which led to electronic imaging, which lead to media. Now the uni has departments in Engineering, in Computing, in creative technologies (animation, computer games design etc) and media (television production etc). Why should they bother setting up arts degrees if they are not relivant to exisiting courses or departments – no students would come to a uni without a good reputation in a subject.
What evidence do you have for the University’s negative attitude to the rest of the city? the reputation and look of the city directly affects student recruitment, and the university is involved in many comittees with the council to improve the city as a whole. Bradford like many is a campus university, as simple as that. Just because it’s not located on a green field site away from the city centre like York or other similar era universities, doesn’t mean it has to be sprawled in around the whole city. Having one (or two) campuses means keeping costs down.
How many other universities have you had first hand experience of? So far, I’ve had involvement with 8, and by far, Bradford was my WORST experience! Precisely because, as ‘The truth hurts’ puts it, of their ‘arrogant, narrow-minded and insular outlook’. Those three verbs describe my first-hand experience of the awful staff at this institution. Furthermore, they have been official found guilty of being racially discrimination among their own staff following the outcome of an independent inquiry (see: http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/story.asp?storycode=402604 if you want evidence!), but still failed to accept official responsibility for this for at least EIGHT years!!! (And probably still fail to accept real, genuine responsibility. They officially finally claimed to ‘accept’ the inquiry’s findings only after being FORCED into dishing out lip-service due to the independent inquiry’s conclusions!) If that is not a result of an arrogant, narrow-minded and insular outlook, then I do not know what is! ‘Brush things under the carpet’ in an ugly oppressive way would also be an apt description for this univerity’s general attitude!
@ manic pony.
You obviously work for Bradford University or have been educated there to be so hyper sensitive towards it.
If the university had any ambition whatsoever it would surely want to branch out from the usual science type courses they offer. Reputations are not built overnight, but you have to start somewhere.
What evidence do I have to suggest the University’s negative attitude to the rest of the city?
Here’s one:
myself and a few colleagues used to run a Bradford music fanzine. When we went to the University to drop off a few magazines, we were blatantly and rudely refused. Everything had to be “approved” by senior members of staff. One Bradford Uni staff member said “Who are these bands?, we have bands like the Stiff little fingers playing on campus, we’ve never heard of these bands.”
These magazines were welcomed with open arms in every other establishment except the university. Kind of ironic that Bradford University has an arrogant, narrow minded and insular outlook. Besides, to brag about The Stiff little Fingers is laughable, when the likes of Nirvana played there in the nineties. Leeds Met and Leeds University put on current and popular new bands that put Bradders to shame. Christ, even Bradford College have their degree courses validated by Leeds Met because Bradford University are so intollerable to deal with.
Hey The Truth Hurts and Maniac Pony, thanks for your old ding dong, but try to not get personal or too ariated! Cheers!
I agree with you regarding this university! “arrogant, narrow minded and insular outlook” is an extremely accurate description in my opinion, based on my first hand experience of staff at this middle-ranking institution. And this is part of Bradford city’s downfall. This university simply does not have the innovation, or open-minded and collaborative approach to help boost the city’s vibrancy, economy or profile. They certainly are arrogant, narrow-minded and insular because they unfortunately believe they are above being told by others how to do things differently as ‘they know best’. Well, Bradford University, you do not know best, your standards continue to fall, your staff are arrogant, obnoxious and not particularly exceptional in the world of academia, your peace department has very little other institutions to be able to compared to and so you do not have much by the way of competition in that area of study – hence the dubious title of ‘world renown’. as far as I heard from other staff at the institution, peace studies staff are known for in-fighting, which is laughable considering, but to be expected at Bradford university! The problem with Bradford goes far beyond just placing blame with the council. Unfortunately, in my opinion, too many of its key organisations and also its people are narrow-minded and insular in their perspectives and this is what prevents it from being able to compete effectively with other cities and town for investment from businesses and visitors.
Great post which lists many (and not nearly all, which is the best thing) of Bradford’s best. Keep telling everyone about what we’ve got here in our city and in our district.
Dangerous? I’ve been more dangerous places, London, salford, Glasgow, middlesborough spring to mind.
Boring is spot on.
Terrible shopping
Even worse night life, worst in the entire country! Little towns out in the sticks have more going on on a night time. You’ve either got cheesey, fighty, scruffy, top 40 meatmarket places or places full of underage “gangstas” listening to baseline. A couple of rock places, a couple of gay places and that’s it.