Airedale Corridors A Masterplan & Strategy for Airedale Rural Airedale Airedale Corridors A Masterplan & Strategy for Airedale

Contents 1.0 Positioning Airedale Positioning Foreword 1 Imagine a Summer Evening in Airedale 2020 3

1.0 Positioning Airedale 5 1.1 Introduction 5 1.2 Where & What Is Airedale? 7 1.3 What Made Airedale the Place It Is? 9 1.4 What Is the State of Airedale? 13

1.5 What Do the People of Airedale Think? 21 2.0 1.6 What Is the Strategic Policy & Context For Airedale? 23

1.7 What Could Be the Role of Airedale? 27 Airedale Vision For

2.0 Vision For Airedale 29 2.1 The Rural Backdrop 31 2.2 Creative Corridor 33 2.3 Connected Corridor 35 2.4 Lifestyle Corridor 37

3.0 Places For Change 39 3.1 Principles for Change 39 3.0 3.2 Preparing the Rural Backdrop 41 3.3 – A Town of Heritage & Innovation 43 3.4 – A Distinctive Market Town with a Creative Edge 55 Change Places For 3.5 Shipley – An International Gateway to Airedale 61 3.6 Strategic Areas 71

4.0 Making Change Happen 77 4.1 Delivery 77 4.2 Short Term Interventions 2005 – 2008 81 4.3 Medium Term Interventions 2008 – 2012 83 4.4 Long Term Interventions 2012 – 2020 85

4.5 Priority Projects 87 4.0 4.6 Closing Statement 99 Making Change Happen “The Vision is deliberately ambitious. The scenario it paints is one of excellence, not adequacy. Building upon the current level of fi nancial, human and other resources available to the District, it will be achieved.” Airedale Corridors A Masterplan & Strategy for Airedale

Foreword 1.0 Positioning Airedale Positioning Arup and a team of supporting consultants were The masterplan for centre identifi ed Through our consultation we have talked to people, appointed in April 2004 by the Airedale Partnership, Airedale as a major employment corridor focused on developed ideas, listened to their views and adjusted District Council and Forward high-tech companies and digital communications, with these ideas. Above all, we have been asked to identify to develop a masterplan and strategy for Airedale. a range of high-quality residential areas and a World interventions that will deliver a step-change in the The principal of this masterplan is to identify the key Heritage Site, set amongst attractive landscapes along performance of Airedale, in line with the aspirations of interventions that would assist in the regeneration of the . We agree, but have set out to fi nd out local people and the Bradford 2020 Vision. We have Airedale in a sustainable and integrated way. This large more, and to determine what is distinctive and special created a masterplan which is about delivering realistic geographical area straddling the River Aire forms a about Airedale. and practical solutions that will benefi t businesses

broad corridor that runs through the heart of Bradford and people in Airedale, which will also support wider 2.0 Airedale is not a corridor in the sense of a place to pass District between Bradford city centre to the south and regeneration and planning objectives. From our through, but a place where delightful views and curious

Wharfedale to the north. Airedale’s infl uence extends discussions with business leaders, local authorities, Airedale Vision For places open up to either side. The more you look, the beyond Bradford District, being a vital component of the government agencies and developers, we are confi dent more the attachment to this fascinating area grows. City Region, as outlined in the Regional Spatial that this will be achieved. Strategy, and potentially as an important link in the Offi ce The greatest asset for Airedale is the high-quality of its of the Deputy Prime Minister’s Northern Way initiative. rural landscape. This landscape, in effect, forms the “raw material” for Airedale that will secure the economy As identifi ed in the Bradford 2020 Vision, Airedale always of the future. Understanding how this raw material can has been, and remains, a place for employment and be developed and worked to the maximum benefi t of living. It has an attractive, and sometimes outstanding, the economy is a key to the future of Airedale. rural landscape, it is the home of several world-class

companies and contains three very signifi cant tourist The greatest challenge for Airedale is arriving at a 3.0 attractions in World Heritage Site, Keighley and balance between the needs of local employment and

Worth Valley Railway and Brontë Parsonage. Our brief commuters, and local people and visitors. Airedale is Change Places For is clear; to identify what should be done to deliver the an attractive place in which to live, and the demand for aspirational Bradford 2020 Vision for Airedale. residential property is rising. This rising tide should not be resisted but harnessed and channelled to deliver Airedale works, but it could be so much better! This economic change in Airedale. masterplan is focused on the economy and is about “raising the bar” for Airedale so that its economy Airedale also has problems and tensions which continues to deliver benefi ts to local people, Bradford are testing the character of its communities. This and the region. It is about identifying an appropriate masterplan sets out to create a framework for strategic role for Airedale within the City Region and cohesive communities through shared experiences of

reinforcing what it does so well already. Our job is to employment, education, leisure and culture. 4.0 put Airedale on the map and to support the future role it deserves. Making Change Happen

1 Keighley

Bingley

Shipley Airedale Corridors A Masterplan & Strategy for Airedale

Imagine a Summer Evening in Airedale 2020 1.0 Positioning Airedale Positioning Keighley Gresley Road Park Bingley Jubilee Gardens Restaurant Balcony Knowledge Exchange Café “There’s another one, Grandad,” said Rory, watching “That’s the way we will go,” said Naseem, as she “You know, Peter, I like it here.” said Helena, as she the salmon leap up the fi sh ladder on the River Worth at marked on the map the route of the next Airedale town leaned back in his chair and looked down over Shipley Keighley. and country fell race for 2021, overlooking the river and Interchange and the wooded valley beyond. Holme House Wood beyond. “Do they have them in Bradford Beck, Grandad?” “Since we started this company next to the Advanced “Gosh! That’s a bit mean taking them up through the Digital Institute business has grown so fast, but this “No, lad, they just have trout in Bradford; too many woods,” said Jennifer. place has grown fast on me too.” crayfi sh for salmon, or so they say.” “Yes, but it gets another forgotten section of footpath “What do you like about it?” asked Peter. 2.0 “Come on, Rory, let’s walk down the river and meet restored. We also need to make it a really tough course your Dad coming out from the National Restoration “I think it’s the hills, the river, the moors and the woods. this year. have got a great chance to win this Airedale Vision For Centre. He said they had got one of the fi rst Croydon I like being able to cycle down the canal towpath to time round, and Keighley have got a good team in too; trams in for tidying up. Perhaps we could have a look at work in the morning and, of course, the Landlord at the and they certainly aren’t going to take the cup off us.” it. It only seems like yesterday when they were put in.” Shipley Pride.” “So, let’s go through it again. We drop from Idle down “Hey look! He’s coming now,” said Grandad. “You’re right, sometimes I forget just how lucky we are. the old railway line, along the river path to Saltaire, Will you move over here permanently?” “Dad!” go up to Shipley Glen, down to Dowley Gap Country “I think so. Henrik likes the farmers’ market in Shipley, “Hi Rory, Dad, fancy a cup of tea and fat rascal at Park, make our way up to St Ives, back down to Marley and the photography classes at the College, and Betty’s on Cavendish Street?” asked Dad. Nature Reserve, over the river up through and Sunny Dale to Rivock Edge; then, down through we like the look of the local school for the girls,” said “It’ll be busy; there’s an international nanotechnology the mountain biking centre at Rough Holden to the Helena. 3.0 conference at the North Street Hotel, and Betty’s will be canal, over the golf course to Utley railway station and “It’s doing well; came top of the league last year, so that full with hangers on,” said Grandad. Change Places For then up over to Goose Eye,” said Jennifer. can’t be bad.” said Peter. “Can we get a mango lassi up at the Temple Bazaar “You’re right,” said Naseem. “You should do it then” said Peter. “It’s easy to get back instead?” asked Rory. “I’ll be done in by then,” said Jennifer. “What about to Helsinki at the weekend; just hop on the train and fl y “Great idea, son. We could get some Turkish Delight for the guest team, Otley? They have a good hill-climbing over from Leeds Bradford.” your Gran at the Spice Market on the way.” team, with the Chevin and all that.” “Yes, we should move. Fancy another coffee?” “It’ll be better walking up the North Beck. Rory can “Jennifer, that is exactly why the course needs to be “No, but talking of Landlord, let’s go and have a pint show you some of the fi sh and where he saw the otter,” tough, I couldn’t bear someone from to down at the Interchange before going back to the said Grandad, as the two men strolled off with Rory win the race. I wouldn’t even mind if it was Shipley who apartment in Windhill. We can go down the path skipping ahead of them. 4.0 won, as long as they are from Airedale!” through the bluebell woods on the way.” Making Change Happen

3 © Arup / www.paulwhite.co.uk Overlooking Airedale at Dawn one ofthekeydriversitsneweconomy. now rediscovering itsrelationship withitsrurallandscapeandfi nds thatitisnow specialist manufacturingandservicesinaneweconomic environment. Airedale is decline ofmanufacturingsawtheeconomydiversifytobecome aprovider of increased toanindustrialscaleitlosttouch withtheseruralbeginnings.The The economyofAiredale grew from ruralandlocalenterprise.Asmanufacturing Airedale Dawn Airedale Corridors A Masterplan & Strategy for Airedale

1.0 Positioning Airedale 1.0

1.1 Introduction The key aspects of the brief were to establish how to This report, Airedale Corridors, outlines our Positioning Airedale deliver the Bradford 2020 Vision in Airedale and: recommendations and is assembled in four parts: The Airedale Partnership was established in February 2003 to provide strategic leadership for the • Stimulate economic growth; • Positioning Airedale regeneration of Airedale. This grouping of leaders from • Support the development of key employment sites; • Vision for Airedale business, education and the community, in conjunction • Encourage the renaissance of the town centres; • Places for Change with Bradford Council and Yorkshire Forward, saw • Promote e-business technologies; • Making Change Happen the need for a strategic masterplan to deliver the aspirations of the Bradford 2020 Vision for Airedale. • Support skill development; A Background report, a consultation report and three 2.0 • Connect local people to economic opportunity; town centre reports for Keighley, Bingley and Shipley The aim of the masterplan and strategy is to establish • Support the rural economy; are available for further information. a framework that will deliver a step-change in the local Airedale Vision For economy that benefi ts local people and protects and • Develop cross boundary initiatives. enhances the environment. It will advise future planning frameworks and investment plans for the Bradford District and the wider region. 3.0 Places For Change Places For 4.0 Making Change Happen

5 Landscape Airedale undoubtedly has a strong rural character, and seen from the air, is a patchwork of green with moorland, fi elds and woodland mixed in with rivers, canals and reservoirs. Looking closer, there is a network of villages on the moors to the south of Airedale between the incised valleys of the River Worth and Bradford Beck. The dominant transport features of canal, railway and road are obvious within the valley bottom and refl ect its importance as a communication corridor. At its core are the three principal settlements of Keighley, Bingley and Shipley, surrounded by green space, yet adjacent to the urban edges of Bradford and Leeds. Airedale Corridors A Masterplan & Strategy for Airedale

1.2 Where & What is Airedale?

Location 1.0 Airedale is the broad steep sided valley of the River Aire that runs between in through Positioning Airedale Bradford District down as far as Rodley in Leeds. It is a large rural area with three industrial towns of Keighley, Bingley and Shipley at its core, surrounded by a network of smaller towns and villages. Airedale sits at the north-western edge of the West Yorkshire conurbation and is an important communication corridor through to the north-west, including Blackburn and Preston. 2.0 For business, Airedale is 15 minutes from Leeds and Bradford and 2.5 hours by train from London. It is close Vision For Airedale Vision For to Leeds Bradford International Airport, which is a mere 2 hours from Schiphol, Frankfurt, Barcelona and Paris. For leisure, Airedale is 30 minutes from the outstanding natural beauty of the and Forest of Bowland, and 1 hour from the Lake District.

Lake District Moors Geological Map of Bingley 1938

A65 Yorkshire Dales Geology Raw Material 3.0

M6 Airedale has a very particular topography, a Harrogate The raw materials of water power, coal, iron and fi reclay Skipton A59 York consequence of the underlying geology and the last

that led to the industrial development of Airedale have Change Places For Forest of glacial advance down the valley as far as Rodley. The

A59 l Airedale gone now. We are left again with a rural landscape and Bowland a n a Leeds A64 presence of glacial sand, gravel and clay deposits, C natural environment which attracts people to live, work l o o p generally good foundation materials, has dictated the Live r and play. The rural landscape and environment is, in Preston eds & Le Bradford A63 location of the principal settlements within the valley, Burnley effect, the new “raw material” that gives purpose to the Blackburn while the presence of poor ground in the form of peat A59 M65 Halifax valley and provides a backdrop for its regeneration. M62 bogs, lake clays and landslides has restricted urban Wakefi eld M62 Huddersfi eld expansion; hence the reason why Airedale has retained M1 much of its rural landscape. Coal, ironstone, limestone

Doncaster and fi reclay fuelled early industrial development, and Manchester the local sandstones and fl ags defi ned the scale, shape and style of settlements and buildings. This underlying 4.0 Sheffi eld geology is the foundation of Airedale and has strongly Peak District infl uenced what it is today. Making Change Happen

7 Early Airedale As agriculture developed throughout Airedale there was a progressive clearance of woodland to create pasture land. Settlements were dispersed across the landscape to serve agriculture, with woollen cloth production supplementing farm income along with local industry in the form of quarries and shallow coal mines. Local deposits of coal, ironstone and fi reclay found at led to the early development of metalworking skills in Airedale, cultivated by the monks of Kirkstall Abbey, close to Leeds. © Arup / www.paulwhite.co.uk Airedale Corridors A Masterplan & Strategy for Airedale

1.3 What Made Airedale the Place It Is?

1750 to 1920s 1920s to 1990s Post 1990 1.0 Positioning Airedale

From this dispersed rural base farmers initiated the fi rst Between the 1920s and 1990s the textiles, engineering Since 1990 there has been a change in the fortunes 2.0 industry by utilising water power to drive spinning and and manufacturing industries declined. At the same of Airedale due to investment in the infrastructure, the weaving machinery. The need for tools and machinery time manufacturing fi rms adapted to change moving presence of entrepreneurs, a skilled workforce and from Airedale Vision For fostered the development of foundries and engineering into new areas such as automotive components, inward investment. The improved infrastructure has skills that supported the wool industry. The arrival plastics and printing. enabled new land to become available for development of cotton production led to new sets of tools and and attracted new investment. machinery to support the textile trades of Yorkshire The transport infrastructure gradually came under and Lancashire. Coal was mined in localised outcrops pressure, making Airedale less competitive with the Despite the rapid downturn in textiles and until 1922. Building stone and stone fl ags from Airedale severance of the railway line to Colne and growing manufacturing, survivors have specialised their were renowned for their quality and exported widely. congestion on the road network. The M62 provided a production and targeted niche markets and a range Enclosure of pasture land with stone walls accelerated to new transport opportunity and became the dominant of new investments have been attracted, particularly provide food for the rapidly growing local populations. cross-Pennine route, moving the centre of gravity of from overseas. There has been further diversifi cation new developments away from the North to the South into polymers, tourism, food and drink, digital and 3.0 The arrival of the Leeds & Liverpool Canal transformed of the region. Airedale found itself at a competitive knowledge industries. industry with raw materials of coal, iron, wool and Change Places For disadvantage as road transport became more cotton imported to serve the skill base that had been Transport has improved, with large sections of the important. established. Finished goods were exported to markets, Airedale trunk road complete, and the electrifi cation generating wealth for Airedale. Regular transport By 1990 Airedale was probably at its lowest recent of the railway. Saltaire has been revitalised, providing allowed, for the fi rst time, the transfer of knowledge ebb. The decline of industry did reduce pollution and low cost affordable space for small fi rms as well as and skills between wider areas that set in place new allowed the watercourses and atmosphere to revive, established fi rms, particularly in the high technology methods of working. The combination of water power but this happened through neglect rather than through sector. Recognised as a World Heritage Site in 2001, and raw materials, combined with canal and rail active intervention. Saltaire remains as Titus Salt intended, a place in which transport, established Airedale as a strong, industrial to work, live and be educated. With active intervention corridor. At this time, scant regard was given to the the river water quality has dramatically improved, and natural environment with contamination of ground, the natural environment is now recovering, with otters 4.0 watercourses and atmosphere, leading to a decline in and kingfi shers returning to the River Aire. the quality of the natural environment. Making Change Happen

9 Sir Titus Salt Philanthropist and devout congregationalist, Sir Titus Salt was a man of strong religious principles and compassion. He built a village for his workforce adjacent to his new ‘state of the art’ mill near the River Aire, between the Leeds & Liverpool Canal and the railway. Offering much improved living and working conditions to those in Bradford, the village developed to include the Congregational Church, the Mechanics Institute, a school, recreational grounds, baths and wash houses. The village is called Saltaire and in 2001 was designated a World Heritage Site.

Roberts Park, Saltaire © Arup / Nigel Morris Airedale Corridors A Masterplan & Strategy for Airedale

The community and voluntary sector is strong within Airedale and contributes much towards the economy, 1.0 pride and social well-being of Airedale. There is no © Airedale Partnership © Airedale greater example of this than the volunteers of the Keighley and Railway, who, as some of Positioning Airedale the earliest members of the steam railway preservation movement, have kept Airedale on the map through tourism and use of the railway for fi lm locations throughout the worst years of decline. 2.0 Vision For Airedale Vision For

Airedale Masterplan Public Consultation

The People of Airedale The people of Airedale have been used to a culture of 3.0 The people of Airedale are very much part of its mill and factory working, epitomised by the national historical development. The early establishment of shell factory located near Keighley during the Great Places For Change Places For mills and factories led to organised work practices, War, when signifi cant resources of Airedale were unions and friendly societies. The high number of non- focused into one concentrated activity. This culture Station, Keighley and Worth Valley Railway conformist churches within Airedale suggests a strong- has developed a strong work ethic in the valley that minded people driven by conviction. Titus Salt set an continues today and is refl ected in the resilience of the Throughout its history Airedale has always adapted to, example of how sustainable communities could be economy. Despite the decline in manufacturing many and benefi ted from, waves of migration which gives this developed at Saltaire, and Sir Swire Smith of Keighley of the skilled workers have found new jobs in new area diversity and strength. Today Airedale contains initiated the Mechanics Institute and Carnegie Library industries. a multicultural mix that is an asset and needs to be for the betterment of its workers. One of the earliest celebrated rather than hidden. Historical evidence Co-operative Societies was established in Keighley suggests a people of character, tolerance and pride to provide higher quality, affordable food alongside who are free-thinking and yet can work in teams to 4.0 building societies throughout Airedale that provided achieve goals. capital for workers to purchase houses. Making Change Happen

11 © Airedale Partnership Advanced Manufacturing, Carnaud Metalbox,Shipley Advanced Manufacturing,Carnaud