A CAFE/BAR and off licence could become the latest business to open on a long neglected street in Bradford city centre.

Despite being in the heart of Bradford, the stretch of Duke Street that links Darley Street with Piccadilly has been recently characterised by empty units.

In recent years there has been some major boosts for the area, with the opening of live music venue The Underground and Al's Juke Bar on the corner of Duke Street and Darley Street.

Next month a new craft store selling the work of local producers will be opening on the street.

And a planning application has now been submitted to turn a unit that has been empty for years into a cafe/bar.

It has been submitted by Steve Le Shaw, the owner of Al's Juke Bar, and would see the unit next to the bar, a Grade II listed former recruitment agency, converted.

Refurbishment plan for shop on street plagued by vacant units

It is hoped the business will lead to increased footfall in an area of the city that has suffered from numerous closures in recent years.

The application says: "Many of the units in the area are now vacant following the development of the nearby Broadway Shopping Centre in 2015 and the area is in decline.

"The Applicant currently runs the adjoining Al’s Juke Bar at 32a Darley Street and other successful bars in the area and now proposes to invest substantially with a refurbishment and internal alteration of the property to open a fully licensed cafe bar on the ground floor with additional off licence sales of alcohol.

"It is understood that Bradford Council have been contacted by the applicant and are willing to assist with funding for the proposals through the Bradford city Centre Growth Zone and acknowledge the desperate need for any businesses to re locate and invest in this area.

"It is considered that the loss of a retail unit from within a shopping area will have no further detriment to this area as the natural shopping area has now naturally re located towards the new Broadway Shopping Centre.

"The property landlord is also offering favourable terms for the rental due to the depressed nature of the rental market in this area and length of time the property has been vacant.

"The proposed re use of the building by re opening an existing vacant retail unit will help bring additional footfall to the location and will also create local employment directly and indirectly through suppliers."

A decision on the application is expected next month.

Next month will also see the opening of craft store The Old Wooden Box, which will open in a section of the Underground - next to the planned cafe.

Local businesswoman Laura Wigglesworth will run the store, which will feature handmade products from a variety of local independent businesses, many of whom will have sold their wares at Bradford’s many vibrant events pre-Covid.

Sellers at The Old Wooden Box will include jewellers, authors, sewists, pyrography artists, and more.

With no current return date for the events, Laura, who also runs the successful stationery and merchandising company Ey Up Design, saw an opportunity to bring these businesses back in front of the Bradford public.

“When Nigel (Booth) from The Underground offered me the space, I jumped at the opportunity,” she said.

“Bradford has so many creative indie people, when we knew fairs and events were out of the question for the foreseeable future, we knew we needed to pivot our business and realised others would too. This provides us a space to all sell together, and we can help each other out. I know so many people from doing events and trading fairs, it just seemed like a natural step.”