New city park will be larger than football ground

A “major new park” is being created in a city centre and will be planted with species that reflect the area’s textile heritage.

Norfolk Gardens behind Bradford City Hall is being enlarged to cover the whole of Hall Ings and will be about one and a half times the size of the pitch at Bradford City’s Valley Parade football ground.

Plants have been chosen that reflect Bradford’s sporting colours – claret and amber – and its history as the “wool capital of the world”.

Councillor Alex Ross-Shaw said the plans would provide a “safer, greener and more sustainable environment” in the city centre.

He said: “A lot of thought has gone into the design of the space with the textile heritage and the colours of local sporting teams and going further back military heritage being incorporated.

“I’m confident the expanded Norfolk Gardens will reflect the public feedback for more green spaces in the city centre."

The 2.5 acre (10,000-sq-m) park will be planted with trees and shrubs from which local dyes were derived during the city’s textile heyday.

The claret and amber plants will represent Bradford City Football Club, while red and black link the park to Bradford Bulls, Bradford and Bingley RFC and Bradford (Park Avenue) AFC.

Additional colours will be green and pink to reflect the logo of Bradford 2025 UK City of Culture.

The design also draws inspiration from the word Ings, a place name mainly found in Yorkshire.

Said to be left over from the Vikings, Ings means water meadow or marsh and many of the plants chosen for the scheme thrive in these conditions.

The memorial garden that currently stands in Norfolk Gardens is to remain in place and the Covid memorial rose bed has been relocated.

The stone mermaid, which was in the subway of the former Jacobs Well roundabout, will be integrated into the new scheme.

More than 20 species of trees will be planted including Rowan, Cherry Blossom and Silver Birch, while the shrubs will include Laurel, Hebe and Red Cascade.

The project is part of the Transforming Cities programme, which will see improvements to the Bradford's walking and cycling routes.

Funding will come from the West Yorkshire Combined Authority's capital grant transport fund, provided by the Department for Transport.

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