17-21 Chapel Street is an empty Grade II listed building, in Little Germany, Bradford city centre.
Originally built in 1832 by the Quaker Movement to educate the children of the local working class, the site consisted of two stone-built schoolhouses separated by a courtyard. There was one for boys fronting Chapel Street, and another to the rear for girls and infants, with playgrounds and living quarters for teachers attached. By the mid-19th century, declining attendance and financial strain led the Quakers to lease, and eventually sell, the premises to the Wesleyan Methodists in 1870. (Text taken from PPP web site)
The building later became a textile warehouse and most recently home to Bradford Resource Centre.The building is now in the ownership of People's Property Portfolio (PPP) a social enterprise who are fundraising to convert the building into a range of spaces - artists' studios, office workspace, and community meeting places.
The PPP has so far raised £100,000 development funding from multiple funders to enable it to commission architectural and building feasibility work. The aim of the project is to incorporate new visitor access facilities and sustainable energy measures such as solar panels and air source heat pump to be energy self-sufficient. PPP has also recently launched a community shareholding offer.
This is an important pioneering community-led regeneration model which has implications for many other towns and cities. According to Harry Jelley (pictured), Board Director this is the first of, hopefully, a number of building acquisitions by PPS which is committed to “combatting precarious tenancies and vacant properties owned by absent landlords in the city.” PPP aims to work with other community organisations, who are also acquiring and repurposing buildings in Little Germany, to regenerate the area by creating a cluster of repurposed buildings providing space for a wide range of community enterprises.
Harry Jelley and friend
