Leave the car at home on 22 September
World Car Free Day, on 22 September, sees people in towns and cities around the world experience quieter streets for the day.
The day is celebrated to cut air pollution, support the environment and raise awareness about the alternatives to car travel.
Ilkley Car Free Festival, celebrated annually in the town, takes place on Sunday 22 September, from 11am - 4pm at The Grove, Ilkley. The Festival is free and with a range of activities for everyone.
This will include expert green energy advice, children’s bike activities, refreshments and entertainment, free bike servicing from Capital of Cycling and the Culture Declares Emergency Hub.
Community hubs have been set up across West Yorkshire to aid and encourage active travel options, such as cycling and walking, with cycle training, bike hire, bike maintenance and information on routes and led rides.
The following Active Travel Hubs are available in the Bradford District:
For details about the regional Active Travel Hub scheme and all the hubs locations across West Yorkshire see Community walking and cycling hubs - CityConnect (cyclecityconnect.co.uk)
More details on World Car Free Day can be found on this link.
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Clean Air Zone funds reinvested in E-bike hire scheme
We hope to set up an E-bike hire scheme from Spring 2025 to coincide with the UK City of Culture.
Plans for the scheme were approved by the Executive Committee earlier this month. It will be funded by reinvested Clean Air Zone (CAZ) revenue with the aim of reducing short distance travel by private car and improving air quality and health.
CAZ proceeds have to be invested under the terms of the Charging Schemes Order (CSO) which forms the legal basis for the CAZ and includes supporting sustainable transport schemes.
We have already allocated funding to promote cycling in a number of schools through the CAZ funded Clean Air School Programme (CASP). Because this is from net proceeds of the CAZ, there is no additional cost to the council or council taxpayer.
Research from CoMoUK, a national organisation for shared transport shows that bike share schemes encourage people to take up or return to cycling; encourage a modal shift from car travel; improve air quality and reduce CO2e emissions; complement public transport and promote improved health and wellbeing.
The Clean Air Schools Programme, the first scheme launched with CAZ funding, has seen schools reduce their exposure to air pollution and encouraged children and parents to turn to active travel. Projects include cycle storage, safe bike paths, bike servicing, learn to ride schemes for parents and children, creating active travel maps and understanding safe routes to cycle to school.
Have your say on a tramline from Bradford to Leeds
There’s just two weeks to go until West Yorkshire Combined Authority’s consultation on their proposals for phase one of Mass Transit in West Yorkshire closes.
Have your say on the proposed location of a tram line between Bradford and Leeds by completing the Combined Authority’s online survey, joining one of their webinar or calling in at their drop-in sessions.
There next be drop-in sessions is at Guru Gobind Singh Gurdwara Hall on Thursday 19 September (4pm-7pm).
Find out more and complete the online survey here.
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Tipped TVs rescued for music festival stage set
Our Waste Disposal Team helped out with a request for a prop for the staging of the Beat-Herder music festival over the summer.
One of the participants in the Lancashire festival, who is a Bradford resident, saw an opportunity when he used Midland Road Household Waste Recycling Centre.
Dave Harvey, who is part of music and art collective Stumblefunk, was on the lookout for old-style televisions to form part of the stage set for the event. Staff were able to oblige, and two TVs from the HWRC were used as part of an installation seen by thousands in the crowd at the July festival.
The TVs' life of fame will continue as they will be used at future Stumblefunk events until they reach the end of their lives, when Dave has pledged to dispose of them in the correct way – at a Household Waste Recycling Centre.
Dave was so pleased with this part of the installation that he has said he will get back in touch with the Waste Disposal Team for more items for future ‘junk art’ projects.
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Silsden Repair Café wins at BBC Make a Difference Awards
Silsden Repair Café has received a BBC award for its work to repair items and prevent them going to landfill.
The repair café, run by volunteers, received the award for the Green Category of the BBC Radio Leeds Make a Difference Awards.
Since it started in June 2023, 817 items have been brought into the repair café and volunteers have been able to help with 93 per cent of items, meaning they have prevented over 750 items going into landfill.
They will try to repair most items, including electrical, mechanical, bikes, jewellery, wooden objects, clothing, soft toys and other fabrics. Two volunteers also sharpen garden shears, secateurs, kitchen knives and tools.
The repair café opens on the third Saturday of the month from 9.30am -12pm at Silsden Methodist Church. Details can be found on Silsden Repair Café Facebook page. The next session is Saturday 21 September. Please note the December café has been brought forward to 14 December.
Organisers from the café received the award at a special event on 8 September, at the Royal Armouries in Leeds. It was one of four finalists from hundreds of entries across West Yorkshire.
If you are involved in community climate action, please let us know. Email kath.clark@bradford.gov.uk or climateaction@bradford.gov.uk to tell us what your community is doing to improve biodiversity, reduce waste, encourage greener travel, reduce energy bills or enhance your local environment. We look forward to hearing from you.
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Zero carbon week at Addingham
Tips on a low emission lifestyle are on offer at Climate Action Addingham’s (CAA) Zero Carbon Week public meeting later this month.
CAA is holding a Zero Carbon Week from 24-28 September. This is one of four themed weeks the group has held through the year in the village to raise awareness; others are Zero Waste Week in March, Wildlife Week in June and Water Week in July
The public meeting, at 7.30-10pm, on Wednesday, 25 September, Mount Hermon Chapel, will include stories from residents who have already adapted to low carbon measures in their homes; talks from professionals such as an architect and heat pump installer and a panel discussion on topics such as the barriers to low carbon measures. There will be a refreshment break halfway through the meeting.
Bradford College gets £2.6m climate change grant
Bradford College has been awarded a £2.6m Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme (PSDS) grant to reduce carbon emissions and become more energy-efficient.
The funding, which has been topped up by the college to come to over £3million will enable the David Hockney Building and Advanced Technology Centre to connect to the Bradford Energy Network by March 2026.
The network will connect buildings several miles apart to one of the UK’s largest air source heat pump installations, contributing to a 90 per cent reduction in emissions of around 8,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide in the first phase of the network.
The grant will also cover other energy efficiency measures at the college, such as improvements to hot water distribution systems and pipework insulation.
The Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme is run by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero and delivered by Salix. It targets public sector buildings that still use fossil fuels for heating, hot water and catering.
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