Save our Saltaire (SOS) is a group of local residents who love our village. We are campaigning to prevent a new development in the village moving forward without UNESCO approval, which will jeopardise our World Heritage status.

Saltaire, West Yorkshire is a complete and well preserved industrial model of the second half of the 19^th century. Its textile mills, public buildings and workers’ housing are built in an Italianate style and are grade 2 listed.  The urban plan survives intact and the village houses a thriving community. After campaigning by a local historian and others in the village, Saltaire was designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 2001, one of only two such sites in Yorkshire.  UNESCO World Heritage status is crucial for our community's cultural heritage and tourism and has been critical to the village's economic prosperity and regeneration.

A major new development is now scheduled to be built in the heart of Saltaire, which threatens World Heritage status.  A planning application approved by Bradford Council (BMDC) in February 2024 was granted without the approval of UNESCO - in fact a report commissioned by UNESCO in 2023, in response to the proposals, indicated that the new building will “have a highly adverse impact on the Outstanding Universal Value of Saltaire... it is very difficult to understand how this site could be considered as acceptable for a large new building“. This vital information from UNESCO, although available at the time of the Planning decision, was deliberately withheld from the Planning Committee and only came to light through a subsequent Freedom of Information request by a local resident.

So far SOS have raised a petition on Change.org which has received over 2,300 signatures. We have ceaselessly lobbied local MPs and councillors and been published in local and national news media including the Yorkshire Post, BBC, Daily Mail and The Guardian. We have appealed the local authority's (BMDC) decision to the ombudsman who are investigating, and also to the Information Commissioner's Office who have made a decision against BMDC for withholding of data.  BMDC have refused to change or delay their decision even though UNESCO confirmed in July 2024 that they have not approved this build and it is still under review. Furthermore, we have concerns regarding transparency of the land transfer from BMDC to the developers.  Work on the building will begin in 2025 unless we can stop it!  

In February 2025 we approached human rights legal firm Leigh Day Solicitors, to instruct them to request full disclosure from BMDC regarding transfer of the land to the developers. The fee for this is £2,500. We need to act quickly so our deadline to raise this funding is 30 April 2025

Please support us by donating whatever you can afford, however small.  We believe that Bradford Council (BMDC) should await UNESCO's final decision and abide by it. We don't want to lose our World Heritage Status!

Please do not hesitate to contact us on [email protected] or find us on Facebook - Save Our Saltaire - if you would like any more information about our Campaign.

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