Bradford District Local Infrastructure Baseline Study - working draft ...

202 Scheduled Ancient Monuments
1 Historic battlefield (Adwalton Moor)
36 Public parks with 13 on the historic parks and gardens register.
59 Conservation areas
5800 Listed Buildings
The District has a long history with traces of bronze age (Rombalds moor), Roman (Ilkley),
Saxon, medieval, Tudor, Georgian and Victorian heritage. The District possesses a rich
architectural and archaeological heritage, which is highly valued. The District’s industrial
heritage of mills and associated commercial development from the late 18 th and 19 th
Centuries is particularly important and reflects the area’s dominance in the textile trade. This
contributes to the distinctiveness of the District and quality of place. It is also important to the
economy in terms of tourism in particularly in ‘Bronte’ country.
The District’s topography is equally rich and diverse, characterised by dramatic contrasts
from the fringes of the South Pennines in the west to the Wharfe Valley in the north. These
provide a high quality setting for the settlements in the District but also constrain their
development and growth.
The quality of the District’s built and natural heritage is also of major importance to the
economy in attracting and retaining high quality and high value investment.
The District comprises a series of escarpments of plateaux with elevations up to 455m O.D.,
and a general decrease in the height of plateau in the east. The escarpments are dissected
by the Rivers Aire and Wharfe and a number of smaller rivers, including Bradford Beck and
the River Worth. The valley sides are commonly very steep, in contrast to the flat nature of
the valley bottoms. The main urban areas and transport routes occur within the valley floor
of the District.
1.4 The Big Plan – our place
The district stretches from the outskirts of Leeds in the east, through Bradford city and
onwards through the towns of Shipley, Bingley, Keighley and Ilkley, and close to the
boundaries of the Yorkshire Dales National Park. This results in a diverse mix of
environments ranging from inner-city areas, through towns and villages and onto high
Pennine moorland.
We are proud of our built heritage, including the World Heritage site of Saltaire. The
redevelopment of Lister’s Mill has been a catalyst for ambitious regeneration in
Manningham. Four of the district’s parks have coveted green flag status, including the
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