The Piece Hall: Working together to increase tourism in Yorkshire

By CEO of The Piece Hall Trust, Nicky Chance-Thompson MBE, DL

Despite some incredibly challenging weather Bradford kicked off its landmark year as UK City of Culture 2025 in fine style with a glitzy opening ceremony earlier this month ahead of a full 12 months of activities and events. The city’s year in the spotlight is expected to attract over 15 million people and generate £130 million in visitor spend, while also supporting the creation of 7,000 new jobs.

My hope is that many of those people heading into the area to explore the Bradford district, may take the opportunity to pop over the border and check out everything we have to offer, especially The Piece Hall of course, the only remaining Georgian cloth hall in the world!

It’s perfect timing for the focus to be on West Yorkshire as the region is also coming together to better promote itself in terms of tourism. A new four-year strategy has just been set out showing how we can build a better and more productive visitor economy, attracting more visitors and inward investment to drive growth, create jobs and help businesses thrive. It’s hoped this in turn will benefit all of us, bringing richer lives and better social cohesion.

This feels very timely, and it is fantastic to see all the surrounding local authorities – Calderdale, Kirklees, Leeds, Wakefield, Bradford and The West Yorkshire Combined Authority- coming together to try and build a better future for everyone.

We have some really special places here in West Yorkshire, The Bronte Parsonage, Yorkshire Sculpture Park, national museums like Eureka and The Royal Armouries, as well as our stunning countryside and abundance of history and heritage. If we can better connect these unique assets and join together the rich tapestry of the region, we will surely have an even more appealing offer for visitors?

As overseas tourism continues to recover after Covid, it is so important we get our fair share of the action, but so many visitors head only to London and think they have “done” England. Of those travelling further, many head only to York to discover Northern heritage before heading up to Scotland, when you and I know there is so very much more to Yorkshire, never mind England.

I truly hope this spirit of collaboration continues. The world can feel very divided at times, and I know many people are feeling this more than ever right now. That is why it is vital we come together, work together.

Here at The Piece Hall we have four very different but beautiful entrances, but they all lead the same way – to the most wonderful views in our magnificent courtyard.

I think this is echoed in our great county and I hope in coming years we can recalibrate how we present Yorkshire to visitors who don’t see North, South, East and West.

I don’t think he ever made it “God’s Own”, but Aristotle had some Yorkshire nous; he was onto something when he highlighted how much stronger we are when we come together – the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.