Bradford's Richard Dunn Sports Centre gets listed status

6 April 2022

News image — The centre was closed in 2019

Stephen Armstrong/Geograph Richard Dunn Sports Centre, Bradford — The centre was closed in 2019

A 1970s leisure centre which was earmarked for demolition has been given Grade II listed status.

Historic England said Bradford's Richard Dunn Sports Centre was a "bold and accomplished design" for such a building.

The centre, in Odsal, closed in November 2019 but the pandemic delayed plans to demolish the structure.

Bradford Council said it would need to look in detail at the decision before considering the "next steps" to take.

The building, constructed in 1974, was named after the Bradford-born boxer best known for fighting Muhammad Ali in 1976.

Its closure in 2019 coincided with the opening of the nearby £17.5m Sedbergh Leisure Centre complex.

The request for listed status was made by the Twentieth Century Society, which campaigns for the preservation of buildings constructed after 1914.

The centre's architect Trevor Skempton told Historic England it had been designed to have an "intentional theatrical aspect of the single open space, viewable from the access bridge, which enhanced the sporting experience."

Mirrorpix/Getty Richard Dunn and Muhammad Ali — Richard Dunn with Muhammad Ali before the pair's 1976 bout, which was won by the American in the fifth round

In its report, Historic England said: "The Richard Dunn Sports Centre is a bold and accomplished design for a 1970s local leisure centre.

"Its striking 'big-top', lattice-girder roof is of particular note."

The report described the building as "a sophisticated and architecturally striking structure which provided a dramatic setting for the sports provision within."

LDRS Richard Dunn Sports Centre, Bradford — Bradford Council had raised issues around high running costs and maintenance backlogs with Historic England

The council had highlighted a number of concerns to Historic England including the building's high running costs, maintenance backlogs and issues around accessibility and energy efficiency.

A council spokesperson said the decision to list the centre had only just been published.

"We will need to look in detail at the report findings and work with the government to see what the next steps are," they told the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Bradford Civic Society said the decision was an "interesting and surprising one".

"It means Richard Dunn is now only one of a tiny minority of mid-20th Century listed buildings in Bradford," a spokesperson said.