Broadway Bradford | Local Dialogue

Bradford Broadway

Retail

Having secured planning permission for a new 550,000 sq ft town centre redevelopment project in Bradford, Westfield re-appointed Local Dialogue to undertake a pre-construction and construction communications campaign.

Challenges

The Bradford Broadway site was first identified for re-development at the start of the last decade,  and was cleared of all buildings in 2004. Construction did not begin until January 2014.  The biggest challenge faced was ensuring that political and community support continued, despite the long gap between demolition of buildings on the site and construction commencing
The Bradford Broadway site is located in the heart of Bradford City Centre, so construction was always likely to be disruptive

Response

Recurring written communication, commencing at an early stage, with key local residents and stakeholders
Regular stakeholder meetings, to ensure any problems remained internal to the project team
Continual engagement with the local media both pre-construction and as construction was taking place
Frequent attendance at community events
Comprehensive Q&A and enquiries protocol

Outcome

Given the significance of the scheme for Bradford, a key audience for communication was political stakeholders.

Through regular contact with these stakeholders, both through face-to-face meetings and by identifying and attending significant community events, Westfield’s commitment to the scheme at the pre-construction phase was re-affirmed.

Together with this, the interest that has built about the scheme over the last ten years has been put to positive use. Local Dialogue has developed strong relationships with the local media, resulting in strong and positive coverage about the development of the scheme.

The centre opened in November 2015.

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