Bradford’s transformative new markets scheme has been designed to spearhead the city’s green recovery by creating a modern new ecological retail space for the city’s market traders.
Bradford Council’s new £23 million flagship Darley Street Market has been designed with some of the latest environmental innovations and to sympathetically showcase the area’s historic architecture.
The new 4,000m2 facility has a range of integrated ecological features including a smart heating system designed to significantly reduce the market’s energy consumption.
A computerised building energy management system will monitor, analyse and control the market’s internal environment and energy systems using an extensive network of smart meters.
Almost 200 high quality efficient solar roof panels will provide enough power to run the lifts, escalators and some of the energy efficient lights during daylight hours.
Ten roof lights with automatically operated ventilation louvres will provide natural lighting during the day whilst helping to manage the accumulation of heat during operating hours.
A heat recovery ventilation plant will supplement a natural ventilation system to pre-warm or cool the newly introduced fresh air and water for the rest rooms is to be heated by highly efficient air-sourced heat pumps integrated with solar thermal panels designed to boost water temperature.
Specialised external glazing with vertical fins will manage solar energy by reflecting the sun in summer and allowing sunlight through in winter.
The market’s lighting system has been designed to reduce the operation’s environmental footprint.
The building’s clever lighting system features highly energy-efficient LEDs, lighting sensors and an energy management control system which will work in harmony with the natural light systems to maximise energy savings.
And a smart rainwater harvesting system will minimise the waste water discharge by using weather data to determine optimum harvested water storage levels.
Two huge 4,500 litre flood prevention holding tanks will capture 9,000 litres of rainwater which will be used to flush the market’s women’s, men’s, gender neutral and disabled toilets.
The rainwater capture system will also supply irrigation for the market’s square which will be planted with trees, shrubs, herbaceous plants and bulbs selected to create a lush urban habitat for insects and birds.
The engineers and architects have integrated green transport into the market’s design. Cycle storage facilities will provide space for 6 bikes and two 50Kw rapid charging electric vehicle points will charge vehicles’ batteries up to 80% in 20 minutes. Showers and lockers will be provided to encourage active travel.
The project will create 400 new jobs including 157 jobs in construction, 16 work experience placements and 136 weeks of apprenticeships.
Investment in the new market is expected to deliver an economic benefit of £32 million over a 10 year period.
The Darley Street Market will be developed in parallel with other significant green regeneration projects such as the 4,000 capacity music venue Bradford Live, City Village – an ecological inner city regeneration housing project and One City Park - a state-of-the-art and energy efficient mixed use building on the doorstep of the multi-award- winning public space, City Park.
The new market will have three trading floors, two floors accessed at street level, and an underground basement for deliveries and waste recycling.
Fresh produce will be sold on the upper ground floor and top floor will house an airy open plan food court which will trade into the evenings to support the local night-time economy. The ground floor will contain non-food offerings.
There will be high quality spaces for 13 hot food and drink vendors with seating for 530 customers, an outdoor viewing balcony with seating and a stage for day and evening entertainment.
The new adjoining market square will boast eight large umbrellas for outdoor trading and seating for 66 customers.
The outdoor space is expected to host a range of cultural and entertainment events designed to draw crowds in from the surrounding area.
Councillor Alex Ross-Shaw, Portfolio Holder for Regeneration, Planning and Transport, said: “We have worked very hard to make this major project as green and efficient as possible.
“Not only does the technology imbedded in the market significantly reduce any potential environmental impacts, it also cuts operating and energy costs.
“The market is just one of a number of initiatives where we are incorporating the latest green technology.
“These projects will all positively impact climate change and produce more pleasant healthy urban environments which everyone can enjoy.”