Brilliant Bradford- A behind the scenes look at the 2025 Heritage Network Conference

Our Heritage Development Officer, Anna Cluley, recently returned from the annual Heritage Network Conference in Bradford, 2025’s City of Culture. Here are some of her highlights from a jam-packed three days of inspirational speakers, lively discussions and fascinating tours and visits to historic sites and community projects.

Day 1

The conference began in Saltaire, the model village named after Sir Titus Salt who built the textile mill and village on the River Aire in the mid-19^th century. Designed by architects Lockwood and Mawson, Saltaire has beautiful Italianate architecture and a rich history. 

The village was somewhere that I had never visited on my previous trips to Bradford and, as a lover of history and built heritage, I got off the bus excited to explore.

My first stop was to visit one of the houses involved in the ‘Saltaire Retrofit Reimagined’ project. This initiative is an ongoing prototype for a community centred home retrofit project.

The aim of the initiative is to create bespoke and heritage sensitive guidance for making upgrades to the listed homes and showcase technical best practice with a view to ensuring residents are more comfortable in their homes and the World Heritage Site is even better protected for the future. 

The other conference delegates and I were treated to a guided tour of the improvements by Andrew Gardener, Director of ‘Above Ground’ the collaborative design and retrofit practice leading the project.

It was fascinating to hear about their experiences engaging with the community of homeowners, tenants and landlords to understand their perspective of what an energy and insulation retrofit programme needs to be and to see these upgrades being implemented.

After a quick coffee break, it was straight on to a walking tour of Saltaire led by a member of Bradford’s Metropolitan District Council’s conservation team. Saltaire Village was designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 2001, and it was interesting to hear more about the village’s history whilst seeing some of the features that contribute to its World Heritage Site status and make it so unique.

Some particular highlights included Salts Mill, the foundation of Titus Salt’s wealth and the centrepiece of his utopian vision of Saltaire, and Saltaire United Reformed Church, built by Salt in 1859 to serve his staff who worked at the Mill, where we were lucky enough to experience the architectural grandeur of the interior accompanied by music played on the organ. The building is a unique example of Italianate religious architecture and, fittingly, the Mausoleum built onto the church contains the remains of Sir Titus Salt himself.

After this excellent introduction to the conference, I was excited to head over to Victoria Hall- another of Saltaire’s beautiful Victorian buildings given by Titus Salt to encourage educational and leisure pursuits for the local people- for the official reception and opening of the event.

The reception opened with a bang (literally!) with some fantastic entertainment provided by Bradford-based bhangra musicians, Punjabi Roots. This was followed by introductions by the Heritage Network’s Chair of Trustees and Chief Executive. After a busy day of tours and visits, the reception provided a welcome opportunity to unwind and get to know some of the other conference delegates, whilst sharing details of our current work and projects. I got back on the bus to Bradford eager to see what the following day would bring.

Day 2

The main day of the conference started bright and early with the morning agenda kicking off at St. George’s Hall, a restored Victorian concert hall that has hosted everyone from Benazir Bhutto to David Bowie, at 9am.

Throughout the morning, we were treated to a sparkling array of inspirational speakers from the world of heritage and culture. We learned more about Bradford, its surroundings and varied history, before being introduced to the cultural and heritage programme that is being carried out during its year as ‘UK City of Culture’.

As well as this broad overview, I particularly enjoyed some of the panels and in-depth case studies that formed part of the programme. One that stood out for me was a presentation by Amer Sarai, Head of Community Engagement at Bradford Arts Centre, who introduced us to the work that the Centre is doing to unite local artists, heritage groups and residents to share, co-create and bring culture into everyday spaces.

It was truly inspiring to hear how the variety of projects celebrates diverse histories, builds communities and offers a blueprint for inclusive cultural work where all groups feel welcome and valued. Another highlight was a panel discussion that delved into Bradford’s range of projects championing heritage-led regeneration, including a Townscape Heritage Scheme, public realm improvements and Heritage Action Zone. The panel of experts discussed these projects along with the lessons learned and plans for the future.

After lunch and further opportunities to mingle with colleagues from every corner of the UK and every part of the heritage sector, we were ready for our afternoon breakout sessions. These were a great opportunity to explore your particular heritage interests and participate in some smaller group discussions.

My first session focused on driving social value and reducing environmental impact through heritage regeneration, using Nottingham’s Lace Market as a case study, the second discussed accessibility and inclusion for heritage projects and the final session, led by representatives from SPAB (The Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings), explored appropriate maintenance and repair for heritage buildings. All three breakouts provided some extremely valuable insights that I hope can be applied to my work at DHBT.

The second day of the conference wrapped up in spectacular style with a delicious meal in beautiful surroundings. We were treated to some of the delicacies from the World Curry Festival at Bradford Live alongside music, stories and historical insights that linked the dishes to different regions and events.

Day 3

The previous two days had made me keen to explore more of Bradford for myself, so I set off for my second round of tours and visits eager to see what today might have in store.

I started the day where the previous day had finished- Bradford Live. The venue, originally known as the New Victoria, Gaumont, and Odeon, has a rich history as a venue for music, comedy, and events. It was first opened in 1930 and became the first place in England to screen 'talkies'. Over the years, it hosted iconic acts like Buddy Holly, the Rolling Stones, and The Beatles. The venue underwent several transformations, including being subdivided into a multiscreen cinema and bingo hall in the 1960s. It closed in 2000 but was restored and reopened as a live music and events venue this Summer.

I thought that I had seen the highlight of this iconic building, the spectacularly restored ballroom where the dinner was held, the evening before. How wrong I was! Behind the art deco exterior and foyer, is a spectacular auditorium, stripped back to the building’s original brick. It is no wonder that this space is fast becoming a popular venue for music and performances of all kinds, giving the building a new lease of life. Alongside this fantastic space, Bradford Live has made the most of every aspect of its heritage from top to bottom, even going so far as to convert the old boiler room (complete with original steam boilers!) into a quirky, underground bar.

After an excellent start to the day, I set out for my final visit- a tour of the heritage-led regeneration works that we had heard about during yesterday's panel discussion. The tour was led by the council’s conservation team, who were clearly extremely passionate about the work that they are doing for their community.

We learned how Bradford had grown and developed from its earliest beginnings to be the powerhouse of British wool production in the 19^th century. We were then guided around the Heritage Action Zone and shown how the city’s heritage had been used enhance and improve the area for residents and visitors alike. Our knowledgeable guides also showed us around some of Bradford’s architectural highlights such as the Wool Exchange and the City Hall, much in demand for filming due to its intact 19^th century courtroom where countless wrongdoers were sentenced.

The conference concluded with a farewell lunch at Darley Street Market- Bradford’s refurbished market hall- before I headed off to catch my train home, full of ideas and enthusiasm from my first Heritage Network Conference.

As a relative newcomer to the world of heritage, I arrived in Bradford not really knowing what to expect from the conference. However, I’m so glad that I was able to attend!

As well as being a fantastic chance for me to learn about developments in the sector and make connections with other professionals, the conference provided the perfect opportunity to share details of DHBT’s current work with likeminded people. This includes our Heritage Training and Skills project, which aims to promote the development of heritage craft and building skills in Derbyshire, and the ‘Buildings at Risk’ (B@R) initiative, which seeks to identify vulnerable Grade II listed buildings across the county using a digital app.

I even had the chance to touch base with our colleagues from West Midlands Heritage (formerly the West Midlands Historic Buildings Trust) who created the B@R app, with support from Historic England, and have provided so much support for our project.

If you would like to find out more about the B@R project, and how you can get involved, send the team an email to:

volunteers@derbyshirehistoricbuildingstrust.org.uk

We are always happy to provide online support or arrange a 1:1 support session at a time to suit you.

This project was made possible by the National Lottery Heritage Fund and the National Lottery players.