It’s a year since ‘Backing Bradford District’ set out to arm people passionate about Bradford District with the facts, figures and evidence to make its case. During that time our readership and army of advocates has grown to over 4,000 people and continues to increase.  A recent event showcased some of what we have all achieved – people, communities, business and public services – by working together in pursuit of common goals. It also highlighted our shared challenges including the need to grow our economy in a way that benefits everyone. A high speed rail link is critical to achieving that goal and with Bradford now on the high speed map we need everyone to keep making the case. New plans for markets will strengthen our city centre economy along with our expanding offer of city centre events and our cultural attractions. With an inspirational literature festival, Hockney, the Brontes, Saltaire and Ilkley, Bingley Music Live and our unique industrial heritage, moorland landscapes and historic waterways it’s little wonder that Bradford has earned the accolade of emerging travel destination of 2018. 

Kersten England
Chief Executive, City of Bradford MDC

Leaders from all sectors came together in City Hall to celebrate some of the district’s key achievements and look forward to the challenges ahead. The ‘State of the District’ event featured contributions from the Police, health services, Bradford Literature Festival, Bradford Economic Partnership, the Education Opportunity Area and Barclays Bank as well as Bradford Council. A film was produced in which contributors say what they love about working in Bradford District – you can watch and share it here.

The event celebrated progress across our shared priorities recognising that only through working together can we achieve and improve on great results. Achievements include:  

Great Start and a Good School

• 4th most improved education authority area on Progress 8 measure
• 5,000 businesses signed up to our Education Covenant
• Over 200 talented teachers inspired to begin their careers in Bradford in the last two years

Better Health, Better Lives

• 7th best nationally for getting people out of hospital and into the care they need without delays
• Care Quality Commission found strong partnership working across the health and social care system making a real difference to people’s lives
• 31 schools to date boosting health through the daily mile

Decent Homes

• Over 1,500 new homes last year
• 240 affordable new homes
• Homelessness applications down 12%

Safe, Clean and Active Communities

• £5.5m restoration of Cliffe Castle Park
• 200 fixed penalty notices a week tackling city and town centre litter
• People Can supporting people to volunteering and making a difference

Culture and Heritage

• Bradford Literature Festival – over 50,000 visitors last year and even more in 2018 – one of the country’s biggest and best
• Bradford Live - £20m project creating a city centre live music venue
• £656m visitor economy

Skills, Jobs and Economy

• Barclays best place to start a business
• Most productive businesses in the north
• On the map in our high speed rail campaign.

New research suggests that a high speed rail station in Bradford city centre could inject £1.5bn into to the local economy and generate over 1,000 new jobs for an initial investment of £250m. The analysis was undertaken by former Treasury economist Chris Walker on behalf of property and construction experts Mace Group who believe that Bradford, with its young population and economic potential, offers huge opportunities for improved infrastructure to drive growth.   

The findings support previous analysis giving added momentum to the already compelling case for high speed rail for Bradford.  You can read the report here.

Find out more about the campaign to secure high speed rail for Bradford city centre and pledge your support at Next Stop Bradford.

A £21m investment to transform Bradford’s city centre’s markets will put the district’s diverse and mouth watering cuisine at its heart with a new food market in Darley Street scheduled to open in 2021. The plans, approved by the Council’s executive, will see the existing Oastler Centre close and Kirkgate Market focus on the sale of non-food items and will:

• Help to regenerate the city centre
• Ensure city centre markets are on a sustainable footing – they are currently seeing a fall in customers
• See much needed urban homes built on the site of the Oastler Centre
• Support local food producers.

With a glass frontage and overhead canopy the market will provide an open and attractive environment for shoppers with consultation ensuring that the views of local businesses and people are reflected in the final design.

You can read the full report here (PDF).

For those of us in the know it comes as no surprise that Bradford District earned the accolade of emerging destination of 2018 form the Luxury Travel guide.

The judges cited our hundreds of historically significant sites, no-nonsense approach to life and big hearted hospitality among the main reasons for their verdict, describing Bradford as a “modern cosmopolitan city with a thousand stories to tell” (yeah, tell us something we don’t know!).

This is exemplified by the ongoing success story that is Bradford Literature Festival which has grown from an audience of 968 in 2014 to over 60,000 attendees in 2018. The festival operates on the assumption that diversity means diversity of race, ability, sexual orientation – and crucially, socio-economic background – and that access to the arts and culture is most needed, and can effect the greatest change, by and within those deprived and disenfranchised communities, typically overlooked by traditional  literature festivals. Bradford Literature Festival is frequently held up by the Arts Council as “the exemplar of the creative case for diversity”. In 2018 the event:

• Curated and delivered 344 public events and 135 schools events
• Hosted 453 artists 
• Welcomed over 60,000 audience members

The festival is playing an increasingly important role in growing Bradford’s £656m visitor economy as are our local museums. New figures from West Yorkshire Local Authority Museums Partnership, which Bradford is a member of, demonstrate the impact that attractions like Cartwright Hall, Cliffe Castle and the Industrial Museum have on the economy.  Last year West Yorkshire’s Local Authority museums contributed over £34m to the regional economy and attracted over 1.7m visitors.

Plans to improve the city centre with money invested by local businesses in a Business Improvement District (BID) have been unveiled. The Bradford BID business plan sets out how an annual levy on 600 city centre businesses would raise £2.5m to be invested in promoting the centre, ensuring it is packed with events and things to do and keeping it clean and safe. Business will vote in September on whether to establish a BID and events are scheduled for people to find out more:

Tuesday 7 August 

10am to midday Digital Health Enterprise Zone, Little Germany
3pm to 5pm Tiffin Coffee Shop, Hustlergate
6pm to 8pm The Sparrow Café Bar, North Parade

Wednesday 8 August

10am to midday Smorgasbord, Rawson Place 
3pm to 5pm Old Bank, Market Street 
6pm to 8pm Bradford Brewery, Westgate

More information can be found on the Bradford BID website.