Bulldozers open up views of Victorian ‘gems’ hidden by old M&S

“HIDDEN gems” in a Bradford street have been revealed by the demolition of a Marks & Spencer store.

The old M&S building on Darley Street, and a number of neighbouring buildings, are being torn down as the first part of a major new regeneration scheme.

Darley Street Market will be built on the M&S site, and as well as the new multi-storey market building the scheme will include a new “city square.”

One of the benefits of the scheme touted by Bradford Council was that the clearance of the buildings and the creation of the city square would open up Piccadilly – the street which runs parallel to Darley Street.

With much of the old department store now razed to the ground, the views of Piccadilly are emerging.

The street is home to a number of grand listed buildings, some of which date back to the 1820s. The City Centre Conservation Area assessment describes neighbouring streets as being home to a number of “early examples of warehouse and business premises, which now predominate in the heart of the city”.

These buildings include “rare survivors” of warehouses from the era.

Bradford Civic Society deputy chair Alan Hall said: “Now that the demolition of Marks & Spencer and other nearby premises is going ahead, it gives an opportunity to see some of the fine Victorian buildings in Piccadilly which were obscured by the shops on Darley Street.

“Indeed, Piccadilly with its hidden gems may not be very well known to many Bradfordians.”

The Marks & Spencer branch on Darley Street shut when the retailer moved into the Broadway Shopping Centre in 2015.