Black History Month
Bradford District is marking Black History Month in a number of ways to help people learn more about the importance of black history and culture and how this needs to play a part in our society today.
Black History Month takes place every October. This year’s theme is ‘Proud to Be’, which is supported by a new campaign urging people of all ages to share what they are ‘proud to be’ on social media.
Bradford’s Deputy Lord Mayor Cllr Bev Mullaney will be attending the launch and flag raising ceremony at 11.30am on Saturday, 2 October in Centenary Square.
AFRICA4U Association is hosting a Bradford Community Black History Day on 4 October at 5pm at City Library , Centenary Square, Bradford. Key speakers include: Mr Charles Dacres, Mr Jerry Crawford, Mr Kofi Amoateng, Nana Abena Onwusuwah Hagen. For information contact 07882 809005.
You can find more local and national information via the website : https://www.blackhistorymonth.org.uk/listings/region/yorkshire/bradford/
Or keep an eye on our social media channels for information and events #blackhistorymonth
Bradford City Runs is back this month
 The annual running event is back in the city on Sunday 31 October and you can sign up now!
There is a choice of three distances: a 5km, a 10km and a half marathon along with a special kids' mile run, all on closed roads in and around City Park in the city centre. The route will take in parts of Little Germany and the Broadway Shopping Centre, as well as the University of Bradford, Bradford College, City Hall and the multi-award winning City Park.
The event is delivered in a partnership between Bradford Council and Bradford Athletics Network. It is also supported by Living Well programme as well as many of the RunBradford running groups, running clubs and hundreds of participants from across the district who lend their services to marshal the event.
So, if you're inspired by watching the London Marathon on Sunday, why not get on your running shoes and take part in an event closer to home?
Yorkshire Olympian Home coming
 Olympic and Paralympic heroes will be given a homecoming to remember with a major event at the Leeds First Direct Arena on October 10. Olympians and Paralympian’s will take to the stage to talk about their exploits in an event hosted by 2016 Olympic medallist Nile Wilson and sports broadcaster Tanya Arnold.
Athletes attending include Jess Learmonth, Jonny Brownlee, Georgia Taylor-Brown, Jack Laugher MBE and Hannah Cockroft MBE among many others - with more athletes being confirmed daily.
Channel 4, who have just setup home in Leeds, are supporting the event – which will take place on Sunday October 10 from 3-5pm.
The event will include live entertainment including headline Yorkshire act, Starlights, along with Phoenix Dance, Yorkshire Prose live poetry and other fantastic acts.
Tickets are available to the public for just £5 per ticket (plus booking fee) which includes a donation to charity SportsAid, an organisation that has supported so many of the Yorkshire athletes via www.firstdirectarena.com
Armed Forces Survey – we want to hear from you
People who have Served or who currently Serve in the Armed Forces (including Reservists) and their families are being asked to take part in a survey to find out about services they access for support.
The survey is being carried out by the West Yorkshire Armed Forces Covenant Project Officer who is hosted by Bradford Council. It is being carried out on behalf of all five West Yorkshire local authorities.
Feedback from the survey will be used to help shape services in the future and to provide data about the Armed Forces Community and their possible future support needs.
Any responses used in reports will be anonymised, so that no one will be identifiable through taking part in this survey.
The survey will be running until Thursday, 21 October and will be available to complete online at https://online1.snapsurveys.com/hzfz5h
If you would like to complete the survey but do not have access to the internet, please text or call Connor Drake on 07816 117776 to arrange a call back.
Enthusiastic response from HGV companies for CAZ funding and second chance to apply
 We have received an enthusiastic response from HGV companies applying for funding to replace or adapt their vehicles for the Clean Air Zone (CAZ), coming to parts of the district in January 2022.
HGV companies were invited to bid for funding of up to £16,000 per vehicle via the YORtender portal, when the procurement process went live last month.
So far, 92 companies were successful in applying for funding to replace or adapt 284 eligible vehicles. This represents £4.54m of the £6.4m Government funding the council has received to support HGV companies to comply with the CAZ.
The range of businesses includes skip and plant hire, haulier and removal firms, which shows that there is a widespread commitment to investing in lower emissions vehicles for the future. The majority of companies were based within the Bradford District, with a few elsewhere, including in Calderdale and Kirklees.
Any HGV companies who have not applied for this funding have a second chance, as there was £1.8m left over after the close of the application deadline earlier this month.
Have your say on proposals for Bradford Road and Wagon Lane, Bingley
We are encouraging people to take part in a consultation on proposals for changes to the B6265 Bradford Road and Wagon Lane in Bingley.
The new proposed plans include reducing the 40mph limit to 30mph, replacing the existing staggered pedestrian crossing with a single straight line crossing and adding a cycle crossing.
New speed bumps could be added to slow traffic between Southlands Avenue and Wagon Lane and advisory cycle lanes and mandatory cycle lanes could be introduced separated from the traffic with retractable bollards.
The proposals outline a new cycle by-pass at six bus stops which could allow cyclists to pass stationary buses on bus’s nearside rather than its offside.
New waiting restrictions could be implemented and the junction of Grange Park Drive could be squared off to prevent drivers from entering Bradford Road at speed.
U-turns between Southlands Avenue and Wagon Lane junctions could be banned.
Proposed changes to Wagon Lane include new speed bumps to calm local traffic.
Bradford Council set to invest £6M in Bingley Grammar School
We are poised to invest more than £6M in Bingley Grammar School to build new facilities for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and increase the overall capacity of the school.
A specialist provision for up to 24 SEND pupils and an additional 150 school places will be created if proposals are approved by the council’s Executive Committee next week.
The popular school is heavily oversubscribed with more parents wanting to send their children there than it has places for. Expanding the school could mean fewer children and young people will travel outside of the Bradford District for their secondary education.
The new SEND provision would also ease pressure on specialist facilities in other areas of the district.
Bradford Council stages free interactive storytelling sessions
Bradford Libraries have teamed up with 14 local authorities across the country to offer families an exciting, engaging and free programme of virtual entertainment experiences.
Three-years-olds and over and their families can join a thrilling programme featuring online activities and storytelling sessions by drama facilitator John Kirk who will take participants to far-off places with classic fairy and folk tales.
Children will be encouraged to participate in virtual scavenger hunts - remote games where players scramble to find items or fulfil challenges before time runs out.
The programme includes 12 sessions, two per month, starting on Saturday 2 October at 10am and 11am.
Nuisance site recommended for compulsory purchase
Our Executive is set make a decision to compulsory purchase a piece of neglected land in Bradford which has blighted the local community and attracted antisocial behaviour for years.
Located to the north east of Draughton Grove in Bankfoot, the site has frequently had waste fly-tipped on it, which the council has had to remove seven times since 2012.
Street Cleansing teams have often had to remove rubbish which had spilled onto the adjacent unadopted back street.
We usually works with landowners to improve disused sites, but despite thorough and exhaustive enquiries, we haven't been able to locate the owners.
As a last resort, a Compulsory Purchase Order has been recommended to take control of the property and bring it back into use.
If approved, the council will work with local partners to create a public amenity, such as a community allotment on the site, or will consider it for housing development.
Neighbourhood Service staff have worked over a number of years with Incommunities, the main landlord in the area, and other local partners, to reduce fly tipping in the local area.
Prevention work includes regular walkabouts with partners, speaking to local residents about Council waste disposal services and penalties for fly-tipping, community clean-ups, door knocks and visits by recycling advisers and refuse teams.
Our Executive will consider the issue when they meet on 5 October.
Workplace Survey
Don’t forget to take part in our in workplace survey which closes at the end of the day on Monday 4 October.
Our Public Health team is working in partnership with Living Well and are asking workplaces – including those in the private, public, voluntary and community sectors to complete a short survey. Taking part in this survey will allow the teams to understand what support employers would value to improve the working environment and to support their workforce. This will inform the future work on workplace health by Living Well, who can then develop specific measures and resources for employers to help their staff to stay healthy and productive.
|
