Naturalising Bradford Beck Scheme

Please note this engagement has now closed. The Outcome Report can be viewed here.

The information and proposals from the consultation, which took place between 6 December 2021 - 16 January 2022, can be found below.

City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council (CBMDC), in partnership with the West Yorkshire Combined Authority, is developing the main roads between Bradford and Shipley. The Naturalising Bradford Beck Scheme is part of the proposed Bradford Shipley Route Improvement Scheme. Additional European funding has recently been secured to improve Bradford Beck. Due to funding time constraints the Beck (near Valley Road) will be naturalised first. This will not influence the development of the Bradford Shipley Route Improvement Scheme which is likely to have a further round of consultation in autumn 2022.

What is Bradford Beck?

The Naturalising Bradford Beck project will remove a concrete box culvert from a section of Bradford Beck located between Poplars Road and Briggate in an area locally known as Shipley Fields. The project offers a great opportunity to naturalise a heavily modified length of beck to deliver multiple environmental benefits to the local community through the creation of a new linear park. The key aims of the project will be to reduce flood risk, enhance biodiversity and improve amenity value.

Project Aims

The aims of the project are to:

• Reduce flood risk
• Enhance wildlife value
• Heighten access to and enjoyment of green space
• Increase awareness of Bradford Beck
• Improve sustainable transport links
• Plant and manage more trees and woodland
• Promote active recreation and better community health
• Inform the public about the industrial history of the area and Bradford Canal.

The Proposal

Improvements will be made to paths, street furniture and planting, creating a new park. The existing Bradford Shipley Greenway cycle footpath will be moved and upgraded.

The project will reroute the beck channel to the east of the culvert structure re-joining the beck downstream of the culvert outlet. This is between Wharncliffe Road and the Pit Stop Car Wash. The concrete structure will then be backfilled and permanently buried.

The new open channel will have a largely natural looking bank with new areas of habitat to enhance wildlife and amenity value. Amenity value basically means it will be valuable and useful to the general public for recreation such as walking, cycling, dog walking etc.

Various habitats will be created including wildflower meadows, wetlands and woodland areas. This will help reduce the effects of climate change, enhance the local ecology and make the area more attractive to wildlife.

The landscape will be enhanced by:

• Creating habitats including wetlands, wet meadow, woodland, mown grass and shrub areas.
• Adding tarmac and crushed stone footpaths, seating, directional signs and interpretation boards to people to use the space.
• Maintaining the cycle footpath going through the park to promote sustainable transport. This will reduce car use, improve air quality and promote healthier lifestyles.

Possible Disruptions

It is anticipated that the works will take around six months to complete. During this time there will be some disruption caused by noise, dust, increased vehicles and the closure of the site area. All effort will be taken to minimise these. The cycle and pedestrian diversion route can be viewed here.

• The cycle footpath Greenway will be temporarily moved to Valley Road with separate easy paths for cyclists and pedestrians.
• Noise will be limited through strict working hours and dust reduction measures will be used on site.
• Work will be monitored throughout the construction period and any adjustments made as necessary.

Public engagement

Drop-in event and online Q&A webinar

As part of this engagement we held a public drop-in event at Shipley Fire Station as follows:

Please note: due to COVID, there is a restriction of a maximum number of 10 people who can enter the event room at Shipley Fire Station at any one time. Please bring an umbrella in case you are required to wait outside.

We also hosted an online Q&A webinar which provided the public with an opportunity to learn more about the proposals and to ask questions to the project team:

We invited people to share their views and comments during the consultation period between 6th December 2021 and 16 January 2022. This feedback will be considered before the proposals are finalised prior to construction works starting on site.

People could share their views by completing the online survey.

People could also submit a question on this page. Printed surveys and support to take part in other languages was available via MetroLine on 0113 245 7676.

This engagement closed on 16^th January 2022.

Next steps

Following the engagement period, the survey results will be analysed, and your feedback will be taken into consideration.

Depending on the outcome of the engagement the works are programmed to start in winter 2022 and be completed in summer 2023.

Information here will be updated as the scheme progresses.

You can sign up to our project page to receive notifications and be kept informed of our progress.