Latest updates from BSTA.
We will publicly launch the Bradford Shipley Travel Alliance with a big online event in March or April, and advertise it widely.
We will need wide promotion of the launch via social media. Please let us know if you can help get us ready for that promotion with short videos or with any other ideas. Email admin@bsta.org.uk.
Shipley Town Council, Norwood Neighbourhood Association, Bradford and Shipley XR and Saltaire Women’s Institute are the latest to add their voices to the concerns on how the Bradford-Shipley traffic scheme is unfolding.
Please sign up as an individual and think whether your community organisation might also. You will get occasional newsletters and can add your views and weight to the consultation with Bradford Council and the West Yorkshire Combined Authority.
The currently ambiguous aims of the road scheme mean a likely increase in urban traffic, encouraging extra travel by car at a time when all levels of government have declared a climate emergency that calls for less traffic. Safety issues including high air pollution levels in residential areas and especially around schools trouble us too. The BSTA will shortly be repeating its request for much more information about these aspects of the scheme, calling for guarantees of considerably less pollution than at present.
The organisations joining the Alliance so far are Shipley Veg on the Edge, Friends of the Earth Baildon & Shipley, Clean Air Bradford, St Paul’s Church, Shipley and Saltaire Living Streets, Saltaire Women’s Institute, Norwood Neighbourhood Association, XR Shipley & Bradford, Shipley Town Council, Shipley Ward and Shipley Constituency Labour Party, Green Party Shipley, Keighley and Shipley Liberal Democrats. All three Shipley councillors to Bradford District Council (Jenkins, Love and Warnes) support the Alliance. The Alliance is not affilated to any political party but welcomes wide support and involvement.
UPDATE JUNE 2022
Additional organisations joined the Alliance to bring the total to 20: Friends of Northcliffe; Wycliffe Neighbourhood Association; Access for the Disabled Bradford; Bradford and Shipley Trades Union Council; Shipley CE Primary School board of governors; Heaton and Baildon Branches of the Labour Party.
Bradford Council published its draft Local Plan for the whole district in early February. It divides the District up into area mini-plans, including for the ‘Canal Road Corridor’, ‘Shipley’, and ‘Bradford North-West’ which includes Manningham Lane and Keighley Road. Much of the public discussion will be about where new housing should be built, but the plan also covers transport and the environment.
The draft Local Plan says that Canal Road / Valley Road ‘would become a streamlined high capacity route’ (Section 5.6.15). Responses to the consultation are required by 24th March. BSTA will consider how to further our concerns about air quality and climate through this consultation.
You can read each section of the draft Local Plan at https://www.bradford.gov.uk/planning-and-building-control/planning-policy/bradford-district-local-plan. On that same page are invitations to Zoom consultations on the broad policies in the plan, including Transport, the Environment and Housing. They are all from 1st to 12th March, and you have to register.
Express your views to candidates hoping to be elected as the new West Yorkshire Mayor on May 6th. They will want your vote! The Mayor will have control over transport and environmental policy, managing what is now the West Yorkshire Combined Authority. Tell them you want to support transport which is consistent with the urgency of the climate crisis.
Bob Buxton stands for The Yorkshire Party, bobbuxtonyorkshireparty@gmail.com. Facebook here.
Andrew Cooper stands for the Green Party, andrew.cooper@kirklees.gov.uk. Blogs here.
Stewart Golton stands for the Liberal Democrats. stewartgolton@live.com. Facebook here.
Tracy Brabin (Labour’s candidate) has specifically asked for your input here: https://tracybrabinmetromayor.laboursites.org/manifesto/, including on the environment and transport.
Matthew Robinson stands for the Conservative Party. matthew.robinson@leeds.gov.uk. Twitter here.
Other candidates may be available but have not been declared yet.
West Yorkshire climate campaigning groups are collaborating to put pressure on every candidate to strengthen their commitment to ensuring that the West Yorkshire Combined Authority treats the climate emergency seriously. It aims to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2038 with significant progress by 2030, but its implementation of the major changes needed is exceedingly hard to see so far.
It is difficult to credit the irresponsibility of the nine Leeds Councillors who approved an extension to flights at Leeds Bradford airport on 11th February. Five others voted against. The decision, if not overturned, goes against the government Climate Change Committee’s advice not to increase flights in the UK AND the West Yorkshire Combined Authority commitment to net-zero carbon emissions by 2038. Leeds City Council has not only signed up for this but has gone even further in aiming for net-zero by 2030.
It seems these nine were persuaded by businesses who painted a gloomy future for Yorkshire entrepreneurs without an expanded airport, and decided to vote instead for a gloomy future for everyone. As the Group for Action on Leeds Bradford Airport says, this is not the end of the story. Hopefully the idea of prosperity based on sustainability gets a better hold among businesses and councillors alike. Which word in ‘Climate emergency’ do they not understand?
