FAQs

Bradford Council, in partnership with the West Yorkshire Combined Authority (the Combined Authority), is bringing forward a flagship programme of forward-thinking transport schemes. Alongside major public space enhancements, these will help us shape and drive forward Bradford’s future regeneration in the city centre and beyond. Our vision is to create a greener, more sustainable, accessible, and vibrant district that has immediate benefits for people living, working, visiting and studying in Bradford today, that also paves the way for future investment across the district.  

The proposals being brought forward by Bradford Council will:

• reduce reliance on car travel
• contribute to reducing congestion across the district
• provide cleaner air, protecting the health of local people
• create greener and more attractive public spaces
• provide opportunities for regeneration. 

These changes will support Bradford’s ambition of becoming the UK’s leading ‘clean growth’ district and act as an enabler to being the UK City of Culture 2025.

Bradford’s Transforming Cities Fund (TCF) schemes form an important part of a wider programme of forward-thinking transport and regeneration schemes being brought forward across the district that are helping us shape and drive forward Bradford’s regeneration in the city centre and beyond. 

Through TCF, new public spaces and planting will be created in the city centre, to improve the look and feel of the area and make the city centre an increasingly attractive place to spend time. It will also support more cycling and walking in the city centre to better connect different areas while reducing the impact of major roads that currently dominate parts of key areas in the city centre. Achieving this is crucial to attracting more people to live, work and socialise in the city centre – increasing vibrancy, and attracting new employers to the district, bringing jobs and investment.

Bradford’s TCF programme is also essential to reducing the current reliance on car travel and subsequent congestion across the wider district, ensuring our air is cleaner air to protect people’s health. This will be crucial in fulfilling our ambition of becoming the UK’s leading ‘clean growth’ district and the wider region’s ambitions of becoming a net zero carbon economy by 2038.

Investing to improve sustainable transport options in Bradford is in everyone’s interests, making it easier for more people to get about, allowing us to grow the economy and create jobs, increase the vibrancy of our city centre, and support us as we become the UK City of Culture 2025.

In 2017, as part of the Industrial Strategy, the Government announced the creation of the Transforming Cities Fund (TCF) in the Autumn Budget, with the aim of driving productivity and widespread prosperity through investment in public and sustainable transport in some of the largest English city regions. The Fund is focused on intra-city connectivity, making it quicker and easier for people to get around – principally focused on helping connect people to job opportunities. 

The Leeds City Region Transforming Cities Fund (TCF) programme, which is being delivered by the West Yorkshire Combined Authority in partnership with local authorities, will be funded through £317 million from the Department for Transport (DfT) plus local match funding up to £140 million. 

Through the Transforming Cities Fund, and complementing existing programmes, Bradford Council has been indicatively allocated around £80 million to deliver further transport infrastructure and regeneration schemes to transform our city.

The funding from the Transforming Cities Fund is from central government and is restricted to use to deliver improvements in public transport, walking and cycling to connect people to job opportunities. Despite other important issues, improving our infrastructure for public transport, cycling and walking is extremely important. It can help to address climate change, improve air quality and open up more ways that people can travel around the district, which is crucial to wellbeing, equality and access to job opportunities.

Manchester Road offers residents, commuters and visitors a convenient way to get to and from the centre of Bradford. Connections run between Halifax, Manchester, Huddersfield, Brighouse and the M606 motorway, but at present, an average of 37,329 vehicles travel both ways each day, causing significant congestion, delays and health impacts for local people.

To alleviate congestion and offer real, practical alternatives to driving into the centre of the city, Bradford Council is proposing a series of improvements within the South Bradford Park & Ride Scheme. The improvements comprise:

• Manchester Road Targeted Bus Improvements: New, dedicated bus priority measures along Manchester Road (the A641) to allow for more reliable bus journeys, including bus lanes which will be in operation at peak times, and priority at key junctions.
• Active Travel Cycle Route: An improved cycle route including upgrading and adding to infrastructure which forms part of National Cycle Network (NCN) Route 66. The route would also link into the City Centre Walking and Cycling Improvements Scheme and the West Bradford – Cycle Superhighway Extension, offering cycle commuters a network of routes and greater connectivity into other modes of transport.
• Park & Ride – Terminal and Car Park – To complement the bus and cycling measures, and offer further choices for people travelling into and out of the city centre, a Park & Ride, made up of a surface car park and terminal building, is proposed next to the former Richard Dunn Sports Centre, between the M606 motorway and Manchester Road. Combined with the new bus improvements, this will offer an alternative to driving into the centre of the city, therefore reducing congestion along the Manchester Road.

As a whole, the scheme aims to reduce congestion, reduce bus travel times and reduce pollution levels along a key route into Bradford city centre, complementing the city’s Clean Air Zone and producing cleaner air for everyone. 

They will also complement plans already being worked on by Kirklees Council, plus authorities in Calderdale, Bradford, and the West Yorkshire Combined Authority on the more southern stretch of the A641, to help provide better connections for the communities along the route between Huddersfield, Brighouse and Bradford.

The Transforming Cities Fund is funding the development work for the Park & Ride scheme and delivery of the Active Travel Route and the Bus Enhancements. The delivery of the Park & Ride (car park and terminal building) would be covered by alternative funding.

By encouraging more people to use public transport, walk or cycle, the scheme will reduce congestion and both noise and air pollution along the Manchester Road corridor, providing people with viable alternatives to using the car. 

The South Bradford Park & Ride Scheme will also aim to improve cycling provision from south Bradford to the city centre by providing a safe cycle route away from the main roads to encourage those who previously may not have felt comfortable or confident to cycle along such a busy route.  

In tandem with the other TCF and highways projects planned for Bradford District, the scheme will help to create a transport network fit for the 21^st century, addressing key challenges around capacity, connectivity, sustainability and air quality. This is essential in fulfilling our ambition of becoming the UK’s leading ‘clean growth’ district and the wider region’s ambitions of becoming a net zero carbon economy by 2038.

The scheme also aims to support residents living in the south of Bradford to live healthier lives by providing people with the opportunity to be more active, while helping to reduce air and noise pollution in the area. Poor air quality leads to around 40,000 premature deaths per year in the UK.

With an average of 37,329 vehicles driving down Manchester Road every day, it is in the top five busiest roads in Bradford which often leads to congestion and high levels of pollution in the communities along the route. 

With unreliable public transport services and no dedicated cycle route in place at present, many people who access the city centre rely on using a car. By linking the city centre with key areas in South Bradford, the scheme will increase the number of realistic options for people to use to get about Bradford without a car. 

The route would link into the City Centre Walking and Cycling Improvements Scheme and the West Bradford – Cycle Superhighway Extension, offering cycle commuters a network of routes and greater connectivity into other modes of transport.

The improvements also have potential to be of significant benefit for Bradford’s visitor economy in the future, with the Park & Ride facility offering greater flexibility for people attending events, concerts, or activities at the range of venues in the city centre.

As a whole, these improvements will help to create a transport network fit for the 21st century as well as addressing key challenges around capacity, connectivity, sustainability and air quality.

The projects set to be delivered in the Bradford TCF scheme have been identified by Bradford Council working with the West Yorkshire Combined Authority (the Combined Authority), based on funding criteria set by central government for the Transforming Cities Fund, which prioritises connecting people to key employment areas using more sustainable forms of travel. The TCF is funding the development work for the Park & Ride scheme and delivery of the Active Travel Route and the Bus Enhancements. The delivery of the Park & Ride (car park and terminal building) will be covered by alternative funding.

Bradford is the UK’s youngest city, and we are striving to become the UK’s leading ‘clean growth’ district. Making Bradford more sustainable is crucial to our future success, however, we currently lack the necessary infrastructure to enable people to make sustainable travel choices. 

With public transport services that are subject to congestion and delays, and no dedicated cycle route in place at present, many people who access the city centre rely on using a car. By providing bus priority and a Park & Ride service which would offer an attractive, fast and frequent service into the city from this key arterial route into the city, the scheme will increase the number of realistic options for people to use to get about Bradford without driving into the city. 

The new cycle route will also provide a high-quality cycle route on this key corridor where none currently exists, adding to the sustainable options available to people. 

This will help to reduce congestion in and around the city centre helping public transport to become more reliable and allowing the city to reduce its carbon emissions, improve its air quality and grow the economy to create jobs through clean growth.

Encouraging more people to walk, cycle or use public transport where possible will ultimately help improve local air quality, especially if these trips would have previously been made by private car. The TCF bid has also been developed closely alongside wider plans to improve air quality across the city and may contribute to Bradford’s move towards becoming net zero.

In summer 2021, we consulted on proposals for a full Park & Ride scheme.  Since then, the project team has been able to review all comments from local residents, businesses and stakeholders, and created a set of new proposals.  Due to significant levels of inflation, we have also had to assess the original proposals against the budgets available and as a result of all this work, we are proposing the following changes: 

• A fully segregated, two-way bus expressway along the middle of Manchester Road was previously proposed as part of the initial consultation.  However, due to inflation increasing the price of materials, we have had to re-design the bus proposals in order to maximise the benefit the funding can deliver. This means the expressway will not be taken forward. As part of the bus expressway, bus hubs were proposed along Manchester Road, but these will also not now be taken forward. Existing bus stops will be utilised instead.
• The cycle route was originally proposed as a segregated cycleway along the length of Manchester Road itself. However, given space and inflation constraints, combined with the benefits of moving the route away from the main road (and so upgrading and integrating into NCN Route 66, giving newer cyclists a greater feeling of safety), it is now proposed to move the cycle route to make use of quieter side streets with lower volumes of traffic. The route will still meet LTN120 standards where possible.
• The car parking aspect originally proposed to make use of a site next to the Odsal Stadium, however, following feedback received in the first round of consultation, it is now proposed to move the parking location to land currently being used as temporary event parking at the former Richard Dunn Sports Centre, but as yet no decision has been made. 

TCF is funding the development work for the Park & Ride scheme and delivery of the Active Travel Route and the Bus Enhancements. The delivery of the Park & Ride (car park and terminal building) will be covered by alternative funding.

The targeted bus priority measures along Manchester Road would see buses given priority at key junctions and traffic lights, a bus lane between the junctions of Smiddles Lane and St. Stephen’s Road, and improved access to the segregated busway on Manchester Road. To support the new priority measures, Croft Street Gyratory would be re-designed to facilitate quicker bus movements through this area.

The measures would enable a high frequency bus service with an aspiration to use low emission Euro 6 standard vehicles to support the cities clean growth targets and help to limit noise and air pollution. 

A fully segregated, two-way bus expressway along the middle of Manchester Road was previously proposed as part of the initial consultation in summer 2021, however, due to inflation increasing the price of materials, we have had to redesign the bus proposals in order to maximise the benefit the funding can deliver, and so the expressway will not be taken forward.

Currently, public transport services which use Manchester Road are often caught in traffic due to how busy it is. Around 37,000 vehicles use Manchester Road every day, meaning it is in the top five busiest roads in the district, this can lead to congestion and therefore more pollution. 

With unreliable public transport services and no dedicated segregated cycle route in place at present, many people who access the city centre rely on using a car. By linking the city centre with key areas in South Bradford, including local communities along the Manchester Road corridor, the scheme will increase the number of realistic options for people to use to get about Bradford without a car. 

In addition to this, the Bradford City Centre Cycling and Walking Improvements will see some motor vehicle traffic removed from the civic heart of Bradford, while we need to demolish the current NCP car park on Hall Ings in order to facilitate the Bradford Interchange Station Access improvements. The South Bradford Park & Ride will provide over 650 parking spaces complete with a dedicated connection onwards to the city centre, effectively replacing the parking capacity the NCP provided.

It is hoped that the average journey time between the Richard Dunn Sports Centre and the city centre will be 10-12 minutes.

A minimal number of bus stops may be relocated to accommodate the scheme. The bus stops which are relocated will be no further than 200 metres away from where they previously were.

If we can improve infrastructure for buses, we encourage more people to travel by bus rather than car which helps reduce congestion and improve air quality. This is part of the Department for Transport’s Bus Back Better which is a national bus strategy for England.

Overall, we want to make the bus a better option for people, more reliable and quicker to its destination, particularly when it comes to getting people to work at rush hour.

A cycle route would be introduced between the former Richard Dunn site and the city centre as part of this scheme. The new route would provide cyclists and pedestrians with safe, secure space to travel easily and conveniently away from the main roads between the city centre and areas to the south of the city.

The scheme would utilise and upgrade existing cycling routes which form part of the National Cycle Network (NCN) Route 66. A new high quality cycleway, and shared space, would be constructed to provide links from the car park site where they are currently missing. National Cycle Network (NCN) Route 66 also provides onward connections to the Bradford Leeds Cycle Superhighway, the Bradford Canal Road Cycleway and shortly to the West Bradford – Cycle Superhighway Extension to Thornton village. 

The cycle route was formerly planned to be a segregated cycleway along the length of Manchester Road, however, given the space constraints on Manchester Road, funding constraints due to inflation and the benefits gained from moving the route away from the main road and upgrading and integrating National Cycle Network (NCN) Route 66, such as giving less confident cyclists a greater feeling of safety, it is now proposed that the cycle route is moved to make use of quieter side streets with low traffic volumes. The route will still meet LTN120 standards where possible.

The scheme would upgrade and connect into the National Cycle Network Route 66 which runs from the south of Bradford into the city centre. The route would also connect into the Bradford Leeds Cycle Superhighway, Bradford Canal Road Cycleway and the planned West Bradford – Cycle Superhighway Extension ensuring cyclists can make both shorter journeys and longer journeys easily.

As part of the Bradford City Centre Cycling and Walking Improvements scheme, a series of Bike Hubs are planned across the city centre, providing secure bike storage.

Cycling stands are already available in various locations across the city centre. Additional cycle parking is planned in prominent locations. 

There is also planned to be a bike storage facility at the Richard Dunn Sports Centre should the plans for the Park & Ride progress.

The upgraded National Cycle Network Route 66 will be away from the main roads, giving confidence to those who are concerned about cycling on a busy main road with fast moving traffic.

To complement the bus and cycling measures, and offer further choices for people travelling into and out of the city centre, we would like to introduce a Park & Ride facility next to the former Richard Dunn Sports Centre, between the M606 motorway and Manchester Road. Our proposals are for the site to be accessible from Rooley Avenue via the existing car access located on the eastbound carriageway of Rooley Avenue. 

Buses would access the site via the existing car access located on the southbound carriageway of Manchester Road. A terminal building with amenities would be provided – the amenities are yet to be decided but could include seating, toilets and cycle parking. 

TCF is funding the development work for the Park & Ride scheme and delivery of the Active Travel Route and the Bus Enhancements. The delivery of the Park & Ride (car park) will be covered by alternative funding.

It is important to note that this is a first stage proposal and we are interested in receiving feedback from local residents, businesses, community groups and other stakeholders on how these three schemes may affect them. All of this feedback will be taken into consideration before consulting again on the next stage of the schemes.

There would be over 650 car parking spaces at the site. The exact number of parking spaces provided will be confirmed at the detail design stage where we will look to maximise the number of spaces.

These are yet to be decided, but our ambition is to have over 650 car parking spaces, a terminal building with waiting amenities such as toilets, secure cycle parking safety measures like CCTV and lighting.

The building is Grade II listed and so the building, as well as the remaining land around the building, would have to remain unaffected by any car park placed on land situated next to it.

There are no major changes to how cars would use the Manchester Road corridor. At major junctions, buses and cyclists will have priority to ensure end to end journey times are quicker and cyclists are safer. As well as this, the Croft Street Gyratory will be redesigned to accommodate quicker bus movements through the area, however, cars will still be able to use Manchester Road as they currently do.

Once drivers reach the city centre at the Croft Street Gyratory, Norfolk Gardens is planned to be expanded out to create a major new green space, and Hall Ings would be pedestrianised from Jacobs Well roundabout to Bridge Street. Sunbridge Road, Bridge Street, Broadway and Market Street would also be closed to through traffic. Vehicular access would still be available for deliveries within restricted times. This is part of the City Centre Walking and Cycling Improvement scheme.

An average of 37,000 vehicles currently drive along Manchester Road every day which leads to congestion and therefore increased pollution. By proposing bus improvements that will create a faster, more comfortable and convenient way to get into the city centre, the numbers of cars travelling into the city centre along this route should reduce. 

All of the proposed changes have been through modelling and this shows no overall negative impact for the road network.

Taxis will be able to use the new bus lanes as taxis usually use bus lanes. They won’t, however, have priority at traffic lights as buses will.

Yes, there will be disabled and accessible parking provided at the proposed Park & Ride site, approximately 30-50 spaces.

While e-scooters are a less carbon emitting form of transport, it is currently illegal to operate privately owned e-scooters on public roads or pavements, they would therefore not be allowed on the active travel route.

There will be two drop-in sessions as part of the consultation period. These will be held on Thursday 23 November 2023 between 2-6pm at the Sedbergh Sports Centre and Thursday 30 November 2023 between 1-5pm at City Hall. Information has also been sent out on posters and postcards.

The three elements which form the South Bradford Park & Ride Scheme are at different stages in their development. 

The Manchester Road Targeted Bus Improvements have key measures identified and modelled. There are still several milestones and review stages that need to take place before they are confirmed and implemented.

The Active Travel Cycle Route is more advanced with the desired route identified and developed. Although the designs are entering a more detailed phase, there are several milestones and review stages that need to take place before they are confirmed and implemented.

The Park & Ride proposals are still at early stages of development with modelling ongoing and feasibility studies of the site underway. The site has been identified as having capacity for several hundred car parking spaces and has good access for buses and cars. Work to establish which facilities would be provided at the site, such as a terminal with seating, toilets and cycle parking, is still ongoing.

After this public consultation, the plans for the South Bradford Park & Ride Scheme will be further developed and all feedback received will be considered and an Outline Business Case will be produced. This will go to the West Yorkshire Combined Authority for consideration in early 2024.

Once the Combined Authority has provided feedback on the Outline Business Case, a Full Business Case will then be developed alongside some further engagement, and submitted for final approval before any work begins.

If approved, the scheme would be constructed during 2025 and 2026.

The current consultation is the primary opportunity to comment on the form of the proposals planned for the city centre scheme. People can comment by email, post, freephone telephone or online. Through the consultation, we want to gather the views of all interested and affected parties. 

After the consultation, we will test, refine and finalise our plans to secure the confirmation of funding for each project. TCF would be funding the development work for the Park & Ride scheme and delivery of the Active Travel Cycle Route and the Targeted Bus Improvements. The delivery of the Park & Ride (car park and terminal building) will be covered by alternative funding. Later in the process, there will then be a period of statutory consultation when we submit the Traffic Regulation Orders necessary to implement the final scheme. Members of the public will have the opportunity to provide comments at this stage of the process also.