Fears new arts centre could harm village's heritage

Residents of a UNESCO World Heritage Site village have raised fears that a new community and arts centre would put its historic character at risk.

Save Our Saltaire members have collected 2,000 signatures for their petition opposing Shipley College's £6m development.

The building in the centre of the village was given planning permission by Bradford Council in February despite a UNESCO advisory body stating their concerns about the scheme.

Shipley College said it would "welcome" the opportunity to meet with the campaign group, but had not been invited to its meetings or taken part in any discussions.

Kate Rawnsley is a campaigner from Save Our Saltaire, which held a public meeting last Wednesday.

She said: "One of our members is a solicitor. He's contacted the college to ask them if they would like to have a conversation with us as group of residents and they've agreed to that.

"We are getting an independent mediator and hopefully we can set this up.

"And maybe look at having a really interesting conversation, a productive and positive conversation, with a view to maybe looking at different locations."

The proposed site of the new building is a car park on Caroline Street, and it would house the local archives of the Saltaire Collection and offer a tourist information point.

A statement from Shipley College said: "The college would welcome the opportunity to meet with representatives of SOS to address any misunderstandings.

"We are aware of misinformation which is being circulated and are keen to correct this.

"Neither ICOMOS (International Council on Monuments and Sites) nor UNESCO have ever indicated to the college that the building poses any risk to World Heritage status."

The further education college said it was happy to agree an independent mediator with SOS if "that is what would make them feel comfortable".

It added that it values its positive relationships with "our Saltaire neighbours" and "extends this to others who take an interest in Saltaire, such as SOS".

The £6m Community, Arts, Heritage and Future Technology Centre would be be funded by the Shipley Towns Fund, a £25m pot of regeneration cash awarded to the council by the previous government in late 2019.

However, a meeting of the board administering the project in June heard it was facing "significant delays" and was at risk of not progressing.

Shipley College said it was still in discussions with the council about the grant funding agreement.

The centre would have study space for T Level students, a community garden and visitor access to the Saltaire Collection.