Visitor numbers to Bradford rise - but are they spending money?

After a year of severe disruption in Bradford city centre, the number of people visiting to shop or eat is going up.

There has been a 25% increase in footfall in the first quarter of 2025 compared to 2024, according to the Bradford Business Improvement District (BID).

The organisation, which represents 600 firms, said last year's figure was severely impacted by roadworks to pedestrianise parts of the centre, and the unexpected closure of the main bus station.

But has this resurgence translated to increased spending in independent businesses? The BBC asked traders whether they have seen the high street start to recover.

Amy Berry manages The Cake'ole cafe in City Park.

She says: "I think it's been a lot better. The buses coming back (into the Interchange) have fixed a lot of the problems.

"And then especially with all the events that City of Culture 2025 has brought in. We've had a lot of footfall, it's been pretty good."

Ms Berry, 27, has worked in the cafe since it opened in 2019.

"We were still trying to come back from Covid. A lot of people were still a bit scared to come out.

"It's definitely a lot busier than we were then.

"But I think we're now maybe back to where we were pre-Covid, maybe even a bit busier."

The pedestrianisation work was part of a £48m Transforming Cities investment which was supposed to be completed before the start of Bradford's City of Culture year.

It was only finished in May - five months after the cultural showcase's opening night.

The Interchange was closed for safety reasons in January 2024 after a chunk of concrete fell from an underground car park, and only fully reopened this month.

Ibrahim Eryatmaz runs Benim furniture shop on Market Street.

He says: "I think more people are on the street because Market Street is open for pedestrians.

"I can see there are more people but business is still low.

"For us it's very low now but if you sell coffees, maybe small items, maybe for them it's potentially better.

"But we are a furniture shop and who's passing along this street doesn't have a big effect for us."

The 52-year-old did praise Bradford Council, which has halved business rates to encourage more traders to set up in the city centre.

But he says many Bradfordians are still cautious when it comes to spending their money on bigger items.

John Varey opened his florist's shop with his wife Lisa at the start of the year and has had a promising first few months of trading.

"I've seen massive growth from when I first moved in.

"Obviously we moved in in winter so we can't really gauge it compared to last year apart from figures.

"We got the sales figures from the shop from last year and we've kind of almost doubled what they were doing."

Mr Varey, 58, says the high rents being charged by private landlords who are often not based in Bradford does not help businesses thrive in the city centre.

Elsewhere, Leeds and Wakefield have seen increases year-on-year in the number of people coming into their centres while Halifax, which is undergoing a £64m town centre improvement project, has seen a fall.

Jonny Noble, chief executive of Bradford BID, says the 25% footfall boost has to be viewed in the context of a very low starting point last year.

"There is no doubt that 2024 was a tough year for city centre businesses due to ongoing roadworks and the sudden closure of the Interchange.

"However we're now seeing strong signs of recovery.

"We know there's still work to do, and we're under no illusions - regenerating the city centre takes time and continued effort."

He highlights events like the BID's recent Soapbox Challenge as well as those organised by the UK City of Culture 2025 team and the council as reasons why more people are coming into Bradford.

Mr Noble adds that he is "optimistic about further increases in footfall, dwell time, and overall business confidence."

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