New market wins national award for food offering

Bradford's "truly impressive" Darley Street Market has been judged the best food market in the UK – just over six months after opening.

The venue was awarded the title by The National Association of British Markets, which described it as a "bold, modern food destination."

The market opened in July after numerous delays and a spiralling budget, as a replacement for the long-standing Oastler and Kirkgate markets.

Alex Ross Shaw, Bradford Council's executive member for Regeneration, Planning and Transport, said: "We're really pleased because the food element of Oastler Market was its unique selling point, so to take that to the next level is fantastic."

The cost of replacing the old Oastler and Kirkgate markets was initially expected to cost £23.5m but rose to more than £31m.

The new venue is spread out over three floors, with predominantly non-food stalls on the ground floor, fresh food stalls on the second floor and a food court and bar on the top floor.It also has an outdoor courtyard for pop-up markets.

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, Darley Street has been clocking up positive reviews online, with visitors scoring it 4.4 out of 5 stars on both TripAdvisor and Google Reviews.

Judges said the venue was "truly impressive" at last week's award ceremony, describing it as "a bold, modern food destination that blends culture, community and quality at the heart of a major regeneration project".

Speaking at the market on Monday, Ross Shaw said the food court "gives Bradford a sense of really being a food destination".

He said many long-established traders at the market, including Priestley's fishmongers and Roswitha Deli, had enjoyed their best-ever Christmas trade since moving there.

Jonny Taplin from Taplin's Butchers said: "Our family has been in business for over 100 years and moving to Darley Street Market has been a real catalyst for us to grow and expand our business even further, so much so that we've been able to give our Clayton shop a major refurbishment."

Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.