CDF Network study visit prior to the revamped venue opening in October 2025
Long after the lights have dimmed from Bradford’s year in the spotlight as UK City of Culture 2025, the c. £5m Cultural Development Fund (CDF) investment in Bradford Arts Centre will provide a lasting legacy for the city and wider region through the work of project lead and Arts Council England National Portfolio Organisation (NPO), Kala Sangam. During this current transitional year of development, the organisation will also be undergoing a name change and rebranding to mirror that of its new home.
Scheduled and on-track to open on 8th October 2025, we visited Bradford for a site tour and study visit alongside our CDF Network partners and project leads from the other third round projects in Barnstaple, Medway, Morecambe, Stoke-on-Trent and Walsall.
While this is not the only NPO to act as lead delivery partner for a CDF project – others include Shademakers in Ryde and iCCi in Medway – Bradford Arts Centre stands out as being the only NPO in the first three rounds of CDF without the organisational support of a major institutional partner such as a Local Authority or University. While this undoubtedly presents challenges, it also presents opportunities, with a more fleet-of-foot organisation able to push ahead with an ambitious schedule for the capital works programme while ensuring the revenue activity programme to support it is perfectly aligned.
In addition to the CDF cash injection – with its vital mix of both capital and revenue funding – Bradford Arts Centre has succeeded in leveraging additional financial support for the project from funders including National Lottery Heritage Fund, Garfield Weston Foundation and Bradford Metropolitan District Council.
New opportunities
Bradford Arts Centre is a redevelopment and refit of the Grade II listed St Peters House, Bradford’s former General Post Office (GPO) built in 1886. Having been based elsewhere in the city since 1996, Kala Sangam took over the building in 2008 with support from Arts Council England. While incremental improvements since then have helped to continuously upgrade the building and its facilities to make it more accessible and attractive to visitors, the cash injection through CDF and other funding partners has enabled the organisation to completely rethink the space, how it might be used and to explore new possibilities.
Facilities Manager Mohammed “Ifty” Iftikar – who has been with Kala Sangam for more than 18 years – is unequivocal about what this means for both the building and for the organisation:
“This is amazing. It’s all those things that you always dreamed it could be finally coming to fruition. Being given effectively a blank slate and rethinking everything about the space and the centre. The flow of people into the building and all those questions and frustrations that the community used to have – lift access, not really being sure of where anything is in the building or how to access it … all of that has been completely rethought.”
Arts for all
During the visit, the CDF Network partners were able to visit the site works in progress, with significant facilities upgrade to include:
- Purpose-built performance theatre space (capacity c.170) with fixed tiered seating, full air-conditioning and fully sprung dance floor;
- Dressing rooms;
- Pre-show bar and coffee bar;
- Enhanced access and entry, with 3 new entrance points, step-free access, lift and central stairway;
- Reception desk;
- Purpose-built studio and offices for Bradford Community Broadcasting;
- 5x meeting/conference/events rooms, largest with capacity of up to 200 people;
- 5x dance studios, including mixed media performance studio and facilities for education/outreach programmes;
- New office space for Bradford Arts Centre and other creative/cultural tenants;
- Faith/quiet rooms;
- Public cafe on mezzanine level, with glass walls overlooking Bradford Cathedral.
This is a significant site, with a total floor space of almost 5,000 sq metres spread across three floors and a substantial mezzanine level. As the build nears its completion, there was a real buzz and energy around the whole site, from those involved at project level to the contractors at Simpson York. Ifty believes this shared enthusiasm and passion for the project is captured perfectly in the name change:
“This is Bradford’s Art Centre and it’s for everyone. There’s such a sense of optimism and opportunity about the whole project. And for us staff, we feel that. It’s just so exciting, there’s a real sense of pride just imagining once we’re open … all the different spaces and how they can be used by different art forms, different communities, different cultures.”
New spaces also present new opportunities for Bradford Arts Centre to diversify its revenue streams and ensure long-term sustainability. Some of these are already locked-in, including tenancy agreements with Bradford Community Broadcasting and another NPO, Dance United Yorkshire. Recruitment for new roles will include a Head of Operations whose first priorities will include finalising commercial agreements with partners including a cafe operator and to explore ways to “sweat the assets” of the upgraded building for both community and commercial use.
On time
Capital projects – especially those in Grade II listed or other heritage buildings – can be notoriously difficult to keep on track and deliver on schedule. Yet Creative Director and project lead, Alex Croft, is confident that Bradford Arts Centre is on track for opening in October 2025. This is both testament to the clear vision and strategic lead of Alex and his core team, the flexibilities and ability to pivot that comes with being an independent organisation and the support of both Arts Council England and DCMS in understanding that cashflow pressures for an NPO delivering a capital project of this scale will have different challenges to those of a Local Authority, for example.
Having already been through significant redevelopments during its long lifetime – most recently in 2000 and 2011 – the interiors of St Peters House retain few of the original features that might otherwise complicate or delay a refurbishment and fit-out of this scale. This is not to say that capital build has not been without its challenges – notably the removal of a large column in the theatre space which didn’t appear on any plans and expansive fire-protection works to steels throughout the building. Nevertheless, Alex and his team have been able to pivot and find solutions quickly as and when any challenge has arisen. While the ambition to open during Bradford’s tenure as UK City of Culture has certainly helped provide a strong incentive for the project team and funders alike, this has always been balanced carefully with the reality that they are building for the long-term.
Ticking over
Just as the clock ticks, Alex and his team also keep things ticking over for the organsation and its regular activities. As an NPO, there are other challenges in delivering a major capital project of this scale. Not least of these is the challenge of continuing to operate a full activity programme, support the communities and groups that the organisation serves and maintain business-as-usual at a time when daily operations is anything but. Added to this, the imminent re-opening and expansion of Bradford Arts Centre also means going even further – developing deeper links into audiences and communities not just in the city of Bradford itself but ensuring the centre serves the wider community across the whole district.
Alex Croft and his team have addressed this challenge with the support of both revenue funding which is built in to the CDF investment package from DCMS and Arts Council England, augmented with additional funding from National Lottery Heritage Fund. Operating from a temporary home in Bank House in the city centre has allowed Kala Sangam to continue to provide services to the community – including venue hire – sustain relationships with participants, partners and artists and generate income in the region of £50,000 – £60,000. This has also meant the company has been able to maintain its full staff during the closure and refit of its permanent home.
All of this supportsƒin to community groups, schools and artists to continue to engage with Kala Sangam while being introduced to the concept of the new building throughout the capital redevelopment period which is sparking interest and excitement ahead of the reopening.
Network hubs
Amer Sarai was appointed as Head of Community Engagement in 2023 to consolidate previous community engagement activities, plan and track current and future community engagement, and develop audiences from the local community. Kala Sangam has engaged three hubs across the Bradford district to form a network with wider community organisations. Claire Hudson joined the team in 2024 as a dedicated Arts and Heritage Officer, with a further 3 dedicated Arts and Heritage Officers for the partnered community hubs Keighley Creative, South Square Centre, and Bloomin’ Buds Theatre Company.
“Each of the four hubs has a dedicated, full-time Arts and Heritage officer including a job-share role at Bloomin’ Buds”, says Amer.
“This allows each of the hubs to have its own activity plan devised by the officers on the ground, serving 3-4 community groups at each hub, so they are all quite bespoke according to the local communities’ needs”.
(Click on images below for details of each of the four hubs)
One of the many potential pitfalls of new capital projects or developments – particularly those in town and city centres – is the false assumptions of the “if you build it, they will come” approach. Drawing on its own experience of working with local communities – as well as those of its hub partners – Kala Sangam is well aware of the challenges of bringing communities into other spaces or moving outside of their own neighbourhoods and communities.
Many of the communities are quite insular and have been resistant to travel to other places. In addition, some of the hubs, notably Keighly Creative, are based within areas that have a strong sense of local identity – participants do not consider themselves as being part of Bradford and therefore how they may connect to other groups and with Kala Sangam as a place will be interesting to observe as the project progresses.
Participants were out of their comfort zones and took a while to warm up. However, half of the participants don’t even go into Bradford town centre as there is a lot of anxiety surrounding it so even doing this was a big win. Overall, participants said it was a nice and different way to spend time and they liked doing things outside of the centre together as it helped them feel more social.
Community Evaluation
Running alongside the national evaluation of the CDF programme by Steer-ED, Kala Sangam is working with The Audience Agency on a local evaluation of the capital development, revenue and heritage activity programme. This has included recruitment of nine community evaluators, recruited by each of the hubs, who have been trained in data collection methods by The Audience Agency. Community Evaluators are developing case studies in connection to hub settings to illuminate individual activities and sessions.
These community evaluator case studies will follow an agreed format to highlight key focus areas for the organisation and the desired outcomes from the programme, including:
- Overview of programme activity
- Participant profile
- Participant engagement – including delivery, behaviour overview, social dynamics and interactions
- Outcomes on knowledge, skills and wellbeing
- Connections to place and community
- Connection with community and heritage
- Interest in future engagement
- Insights and opinions
- Challenges and areas for improvement
