News, views and agendas for anyone passionate about backing Bradford District
 Kersten England - Chief Executive, City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council
The energy,
enterprise and extraordinary people of Bradford District made 2017 a year to
remember.
The case for high speed rail for Bradford is
bearing fruit and the Odeon’s restoration is a step closer. Relentless lobbying
increased Arts Council investment by 65%. We hosted the fantastic Splendours of
the Sub-Continent, opened a new Hockney Gallery and saw Cliffe Castle restored.
Bradford Literature Festival grows in stature and City of Film is forging links
with China. Visitors flocked to the superb
Illuminate event and the Flying Scotsman’s historic visit. Adrenalin junkies got their fix with the Tour
De Yorkshire and our amazing Dragon Boats.
The positive inspection of services to vulnerable children exemplified Bradford’s
outstanding partnership work while collaboration with VCS partners paid
dividends securing an £11m investment in community led growth. Our economy
continues to grow, led by world class companies like Borg Warner, Christeyns,
BASF and Teconnex, by digital innovators and legions of small and medium sized
entrepreneurs.
2018 offers challenges and opportunities. For
the Council, there are more tough decisions and we must increase revenue to
fund local services. That means investing in growth and makes the opportunities
highlighted here, offered by high speed rail, the Odeon, a Business Improvement
District, local growth programmes, the Education Opportunity Area and high
profile sporting events, all the more important.
Thanks for all your efforts
to make this such a great place to live, work and play. I wish you a merry Christmas and a happy and
prosperous 2018.
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 Have
your say on Council spending
Bradford Council has published its proposed Financial
Plan
for the next two years which is now subject to consultation until 28 January
2018. The Council is inviting everyone – residents, businesses, partners,
community groups and local councils – to have their say.
The Plan sets out proposals for how the
Council will allocate its resources in order to maximise their impact on
achieving the outcomes that matter most to the District. Those outcomes, like
better health, good schools, economic growth and safe, clean communities
reflect the priorities agreed and shared by partners across Bradford District.
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 Backing
Bradford Odeon
Plans
to regenerate Bradford’s iconic former Odeon cinema have been endorsed by the
Leeds City Region Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) as the Region’s priority
for funding from the Northern Cultural Regeneration Fund. The fund provides
grants to support cultural and creative regeneration in the North including
large grants of £3m to £4m in each year from 2018-19 to 2020-21.
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 Backing Bradford BID
Proposals for a City Centre Business
Improvement District (BID) continue to progress. A BID would raise money from a
small levy on business rates in the city centre that will be used specifically
for projects which will benefit businesses in the area. After 70% of businesses
completing a survey earlier this year said that they would support a BID, the
Bradford BID team are moving towards a detailed consultation and the
development of a business plan which businesses will help to develop and which
they will vote on. The aim is to have a BID in place from December 2018 which
would raise more than £2m over the course of its five year term.
There are nearly 300 BIDs across the UK and
the Bradford District is already home to the Keighley BID which is supporting the
investment of £1m over five years in marketing and promotion, safety and
security, providing business support and making access easier.
You can find out more about the City Centre
proposals at the Bradford BID web site.
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 High Speed Rail for
Bradford
Plans leaked
to the Sunday Times indicate that Bradford is set to benefit from new high
speed rail links connecting it to Leeds and Manchester. The upgrade will form
the centrepiece of plans for Northern Powerhouse Rail due to be published next
year.
The news comes after a sustained and on-going campaign setting out a
compelling case to get Bradford off the branch line. That case is now
understood by the Government nationally and has been recognised by Transport Secretary Chris Grayling.
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Funding boost to generate inclusive economic
growth and jobs
Communities in Bradford and Keighley are set
to benefit from investment of nearly £11m to stimulate the local economy and promote
inclusive economic growth in which everyone can share the benefits, by connecting
people to training, jobs and opportunities.
EU funding of £5.4m
has been awarded, matched by contributions from the Department for Communities
and Local Government and the Department for Work and Pensions. The money will
support Community Led Local Development in some of the District’s most deprived
areas with the aim of involving local people in activities designed to boost education,
skills, confidence and business growth.
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 Tour de Yorkshire to return
The District’s iconic landscapes and heritage
will once again be showcased to the world in cycling’s Tour De Yorkshire 2018.
Ilkley, home to the UK’s biggest cycling club, will host the Tour’s first ever
summit finish on Friday 4th May at the Cow and Calf rocks. Haworth Main Street provides a now familiar
backdrop on Sunday 6th May as the peloton winds its way across
Bronte country before heading for Goose Eye and into Craven.
The event continues
to grow in stature with 2.2 million people lining the roads to watch this
year’s race which was broadcast live in 180 countries. The 2017 Tour generated
£64 million for the Yorkshire economy.
Find out more about the race and the route at https://letour.yorkshire.com/the-race/
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Bradford
Research School will help raise standards and social mobility
A new Bradford Research School has been launched to raise standards in
the classroom and promote social mobility across the district. The school, based at Dixons Academies, will
champion the use of evidence of what works in the classroom to improve and
support teaching across Bradford schools. It is the latest development in
Bradford’s move towards becoming a “City of Research” and builds on our strength
for social and health research expertise. The city is home to the
world leading Bradford Institute of Health Research and the new Wolfson Centre,
which brings together the Born in Bradford (Bib) project, the University
of Bradford and the University of Leeds to carry out cutting edge health research.
The school has been created as part of Bradford’s Opportunity Area programme,
one of 12 across the country to receive a share in £72m Government funding for
work which promotes social mobility through education.
Social
Mobility Commission
Social Mobility has hit the headlines with the resignation of members of
the Social Mobility Commission. The Commission’s report “State of the Nation 2017 – Social
Mobility in Great Britain”, uses a series of indicators spanning four
major life stages, to assess which parts of the country have the best social
mobility outcomes (the hotspots) and which have the worst (the cold spots).
Bradford ranks 254 of 324 local authority districts and falls just outside
being identified as one of the 65 social mobility “cold spots” in England.
Bradford ranks 8th out of 10 Leeds City Region local authority areas. Bradford
fares worst for schools performance and ranks 304 out of 324 making it a
schools cold spot. Bradford ranks 224 for early years performance,
106 for youth and 179 for working lives. You can find more information on the Bradford
position through our policy briefing.
Backing Bradford Medical School
Bradford Council is one of the local partners
backing the University’s bid for a Bradford Medical School. The Council Leader and Chief Executive have written jointly to
Health Education England in support of the University’s case which was
submitted in November. The school would widen access to medical education and
increase workforce diversity and our numbers of home-grown
health care graduates. These are critical elements in driving improved
health and wellbeing in a place of such
diversity as ours where cultural competence and connections to local communities
are so important. A medical school would
play a pivotal role in the District’s future, generating a sea change in
peoples’ health and wellbeing, acting as a model
of excellence for workforce recruitment and retention and enhancing our
reputation as a place to live work and invest. We should hear whether or not
the bid has been successful by the end of March 2018.
District Dashboard
Keep up to speed with the latest facts and figures about Bradford on our District Dashboard.
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