Content

MOTION 1
-  TAKING ACTION ON OUR SUSTAINABLE FOOD
STRATEGY
 
As set out in the published agenda Motion 12.1
was moved by Councillor Fricker and seconded by Councillor
Duffy.
 
 In accordance with Council Standing
Orders 18.4 and 18.8 an amendment (additional published
papers Amendment A) was moved by Councillor Russell and
seconded by Councillor Caroline Whitaker.
 
 In accordance with Council Standing
Orders 18.4 and 18.8 a second amendment (additional published
papers Amendment B) was moved by Councillor Poulsen and
seconded by Councillor Herd.
 
 In accordance with Council Standing
Orders 18.4 and 18.8 a third amendment (additional published papers
Amendment C) was moved by Councillor Griffiths and
seconded by Councillor Naylor.
 
Following a number
of speakers in accordance with Council Standing Order 18.12
Amendments A, B and C were individually put to the vote and
lost.  The Motion moved by Councillor Fricker as set out
below was then put to the vote and was carried.
 
Resolved-
 
Council notes:
 
Good food is central to good health and good
childhood development. 
The Council and its partners do significant
work in this area to support residents with accessing good food at
a reasonable price.
 
Darley Street Market was the venue for the
Government’s launch of the UK ‘Good Food Cycle’
on 15th July 2025 aimed at transforming the nation's food system to
promote healthier eating, stronger food security and more
sustainable supply chains.
 
The Bradford District Good Food Strategy is
achieving success locally in tackling food insecurity. Our Living
Well whole systems approach to tackling the obesity epidemic has
achieved national recognition.
 
In the first year of Living Well Schools, 16
schools grew fruit and vegetables and sold them in the new Darley
Street Market, and 15 schools planted fruit orchards and hosted
juicing workshops.
 
The provision of Free School Meals benefits
the health and wellbeing of children and their carers and supports improved educational
attainment.
 
On 4th June 2025 the Government announced the
widening of access to Free School Meals to any child in a household
receiving Universal Credit.
 
Bradford Council has also introduced a data
matching scheme to ensure that children who are entitled to Free
School Meals receive them with automatic enrolment and an opt out
provision. This work led to the initial enrolment of an additional
2,733 children onto Free School Meals in 2024/2025, unlocking over
£2m of additional investment into the district through Pupil
Premium grants in primary and secondary schools, and with work
continuing that will further extend the provision.
 
In spite of the
value of food, 2021 statistics showed that as a nation we waste
10.7 million tonnes of food every year, with 60% of this figure
coming from households. If we reduce our food waste then we can save money in our household
budgets and benefit the environment.
 
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural
Affairs (Defra) has introduced new national targets for local
authority waste management services. From next year all councils
must provide weekly food waste collections for every household.
Bradford Council is finalising a programme of work to deliver these
targets.
 
Increasingly extreme weather presents a threat
to food production, supply chains and the accessibility of healthy
and affordable food to residents in our district. More work needs
to be done to ensure the issue of food security is fully addressed
on a national and local basis.
 
Council
resolves:
 

1.       
To work collaboratively with local organisations, health services
and community groups through the Bradford District Sustainable Food
   Partnership to implement the
Bradford District Sustainable Food  
Partnership Action Plan in full which includes creating an Eating
Well   culture, tackling food
insecurities and encouraging community-led food        growing.
2.        To
encourage residents to buy local, supporting our great markets and
  our excellent local farmers
in order to help the economy and to
create a       
more resilient food supply for the area.

3.       
To ensure all council departments are using the Living Well Food
    Advocacy Toolkit to
accelerate the whole systems approach needed.
4.        To support the Bradford Council Waste, Fleet
and Environment Service         
Programme of Work to encourage a reduction in food waste and
       
recycling the food that is wasted.
5.        To
encourage more schools to take part in Living Well Schools; and to
      use our
markets as an asset to support children’s learning and
      enjoyment of
food and its links to health, the environment and
culture. 
 
To be actioned
by:  All Strategic Directors
 

12.2    MAINTAINING LEGAL RIGHTS OF SEND PUPILS AND
FAMILIES
 
As set out in the published agenda Motion 12.2
was moved by Councillor Sunderland and seconded by Councillor
Naylor.
 
 In accordance with Council Standing
Orders 18.4 and 18.8 an amendment (additional published papers
Amendment D) was moved by Councillor Duffy and
seconded by Councillor Hinchcliffe.
 
 In accordance with Council Standing
Orders 18.4 and 18.8 a second amendment (additional published
papers Amendment E) was moved by Councillor Winnard and
seconded by Councillor Felstead.
 
Following
a number of speakers in accordance with
Council Standing Order 18.12 Amendment E was put to the vote and
lost.  Amendment D as set out below was then put to the
vote, was carried and became the substantive motion, was then
voted on and was carried.   
 
Resolved-
 
That with the
addition and deletion of the appropriate words, the motion be
amended to read as follows:
 
This council
notes:
 
This Council notes that the government is
still consulting on its white paper, the Children’s Wellbeing
and Schools Bill.
 
This Council believes in, and seeks to
achieve, a system for supporting children and young people with
Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) which succeeds
for every child and young person who relies on it.
 
Bradford Council has secured £22 million
to boost support for children with SEND.  That means more specialist places in mainstream
schools, major expansions at Beckfoot Pheonix, High Park Special
School and Bradford Alternative Provision Academy as well as
£4.5 million transformation of Thomspon Court into a new SEND
satellite school creating up to 100 new places.
 
The council believes it is right that
legislation exists to ensure that every child receives a suitable
education in an inclusive system.
 
Our aim is for all children and young people
with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) to receive
the right help and support to access their education at the right
time.
 
We believe that there is a need to support
children through both mainstream and specialist education
provision.
 
We recognise that nationally there are
enormous challenges to enable families, schools, local authorities
and partners to do this.
 
 
 
We believe that it is imperative as part of
the current national review of SEND, and through all future
policies and legislation, that a whole system approach is taken
that ensures that vulnerable children and young people receive the
right support from the earliest identification of their needs.
 
It is widely accepted nationally that the SEND
system is in urgent need of reform in order
to improve services for children and to do so in a
financially sustainable way. 
Children’s legal rights are undermined when the right
services and support are not provided at the right
time. 
 
This council
resolves to:
 
Request that the leader writes to the
Secretary of State for Education to:
confirm our commitment to supporting all children with SEND from
the earliest point and request that whole system change is
implemented that considers how schools and education providers can
best be supported to meet children’s needs and are
appropriately resourced to do this;
 
Welcome the £200 million of training
just announced by Government to help staff adapt teaching for a
wide range of needs including speech and language needs, visual
impairments and using assistive technology like speech-to-text
tools.
 
We reaffirm our belief that legally, but more
importantly morally, we should make sure that every child should
have the opportunity to learn in their local community alongside
their peers with the right support in place to enable them to
belong and thrive.
 
To be actioned by:
Leader of Council/Acting Strategic Director Children’s
Services
      

12.3    CONSANGUINITY, ENDOGAMY AND IMPROVING HEALTH
      OUTCOMES
 
As set out in the published agenda Motion 12.3
was moved by Councillor Falak Ahmed and seconded by Councillor
Winnard.
 
 In accordance with Council Standing
Orders 18.4 and 18.8 an amendment (additional published papers
Amendment F) was moved by Councillor Ishtiaq Ahmed and
seconded by Councillor Sajawal.
 
 In accordance with Council Standing
Orders 18.4 and 18.8 a second amendment (additional published
papers Amendment G) was moved by Councillor Ferriby and
seconded by Councillor Duffy.
 
 In accordance with Council Standing
Order 18.9 a third amendment (additional published papers Amendment
H) was withdrawn at the meeting with the permission of the
meeting.
 
 Following a
number of speakers in accordance with Council Standing Order
18.12 Amendment
G as set out below was then put to the vote, was carried and became
the substantive motion, was then voted on and was
carried.         
 
Resolved-
 
That with the
addition and deletion of the appropriate words, the motion be
amended to read as follows:
 
This council
notes:
 
Every child and every adult is of equal value
and that includes those children with additional needs.  Everyone has worth and a contribution to make to
society.  Characterising children as
“medical issues” that “benefit no one” is
reprehensible.
 
The Bradford Institute for Health
Research’s long-term study, Born
in Bradford, is the biggest longitudinal study of childhood health
in the world tracking the lives of over 60,000 Bradford district
residents.
 
Above all, the study has demonstrated the
impact of poverty and deprivation on health and life chances. The
potential health impacts of close-relative marriage is a small part
of the research.
 
Born in Bradford’s initial findings
demonstrated that there is a 6% risk of congenital abnormalities
and rare genetic disorders for children born to consanguineous
parents compared to a 3% risk for children born to
non-consanguineous parents.
 
However Born in
Bradford has also found that other factors such as advanced
maternal age or alcohol or tobacco use in pregnancy in
non-consanguineous births are associated with comparable or higher
risks of congenital anomalies than consanguineous births.
 
Education and public health awareness is key
to improving people’s health and wellbeing. Our
responsibility across health, social care and public health is to
ensure that people have access to accurate information, genetic
counselling and screening so families can make informed decisions
for themselves and their families.
 
This Council’s Public Health Service
already commissions a voluntary genetic counselling programme for
our families and works closely with Born in Bradford to highlight
any risks. Our NHS offers pre-marital and pre-conception advice
with clear explanations.
 
Conversations about health risks and genetics
must never become a cover for racism, prejudice or blame. Families
affected by disability deserve support, dignity and services so
they can thrive and be as happy as any other family.
Bradford sees higher demand for complex
disability, paediatric and social care services. There is an
overwhelming body of research that has proven that poverty drives
health inequalities and therefore addressing this will be key to
improving people’s lives.
 
Council
resolves:
 

To reiterate our commitment to
ensuring every child should have the opportunity to thrive in
Bradford district and reach their full potential, including those
with additional needs.
To place on record our appreciation
of the valuable work undertaken by public health teams, partners in
the NHS, Born in Bradford and our
voluntary, community and faith sectors in providing evidence-based
advice and support for people to make choices for themselves and
their families.
To continue to tackle health
inequalities and support residents to stay fit and healthy.
To support good science and resist
racism and prejudice in all its forms.
To task officers to build on the
good partnership working with the NHS, Born in Bradford and community and faith
organisations to support a trusted, non-judgemental approach to
genetics, including:

-         
Supporting community-based genetic information and family support
services
-         
Targeted genetics training for the local workforce
-         
Collaborative working with NHS equity midwives and genomics roles
to improve access and support for families.
 
To be actioned by:
Acting Strategic Director Children’s Services/ Director of
Public Health
 
Under Council Standing Order 9.1.2 a vote was
taken to re-order the business on the agenda to move Motion 12.9
(Council Tax for
2026/27 – fairness, affordability and
transparency) to be the next motion to be considered.
 
Resolved –
 
That under Council
Standing Order 9.1.2 to re-order the business on the agenda to move
Motion 12.9 (Council Tax for 2026/27 – fairness,
affordability and transparency) to be the next Motion to be
considered.
 
12.9    COUNCIL TAX FOR 2026/27 –
FAIRNESS, AFFORDABILITY AND     TRANSPARENCY
 
As set out in the published agenda Motion 12.9
was moved by Councillor Ishtiaq Ahmed and seconded by Councillor
Sajawal.
 
 In accordance with Council Standing
Orders 18.4 and 18.8 an amendment (additional published papers
Amendment Q) was moved by Councillor Hinchcliffe and
seconded by Councillor Imran Khan.
 
 
Following
a number of speakers in accordance with
Council Standing Order 18.12 Amendment Q as set out below was then
put to the vote, was carried and became the substantive motion,
was then voted on and was
carried.         
 
Resolved-
 
That with the
addition and deletion of the appropriate words, the motion be
amended to read as follows:
 
Council notes that:
 
1.   
Without Council Tax being raised, Bradford Council would not be
able to fund the valuable services that we all rely on.  It is vital that revenue raised from Council Tax
is used in the most efficient way to achieve value for money for
the Bradford council taxpayer. 
 
2.   
Bradford’s council tax is lower than the average for similar
councils. Bradford’s council tax is 24th out of 36
metropolitan district councils where 1st is the highest
and 36th is the lowest.
 
3.   
General Inflation and growth pressures increase every year by the
national average meaning that annually council services inevitably
increase by about £25 to £30 million in
cost. 
 
4.   
Bradford’s Band D bill is £1,872, compared to the
average of £1,942 for metropolitan districts. Although Band D
is typically used for comparison purposes, approximately 80% of
Bradford district properties are in lower bands, A to C.
 
5.   
Bradford’s council tax rate is third out of five of the
councils in West Yorkshire.
 
6.   
The council has undertaken considerable work to stabilise its
financial position. The council successfully delivered £46.7m
of savings in 2024/25 and a further £42.8m of savings in
2025/26, with further savings proposals of £60.6m for
2026/27.
 
7.   
14 years of Conservative and Conservative-Lib Dem austerity with an
unprecedented lack of growth nationally and cost of living crisis
have hit households hard. In our district we have a comprehensive
anti-poverty and cost of living strategy which the council delivers
with partners to address and alleviate poverty.
 
8.   
The Council provides a Council Tax Reduction Scheme to support the
lowest-income households with their bills.
 
9.   
We are committed to providing good quality, value-for-money
services to all residents across the district.
10.The council has also welcomed
the national lifting of the two-child cap which will bring an
estimated £35m into our local economy, supporting about
22,500 children.
 
11.The Council will next year be
asking to borrow £78 million from Government to maintain
council services.
 
Council resolves
to:
 

Maintain good universal and
needs-based services to all in the district no matter where they
live, using council tax wisely and well.
Continue our delivery of major
regeneration and skills programmes to support inclusive economic
growth because creating good jobs and opportunities is the best
route out of poverty.
Consider the views submitted by
residents, businesses and stakeholders through the budget
consultation and beyond in delivering our aims of a high-quality,
customer-focused and efficient council that provides the excellent
services we all expect.

 
To be actioned
by:  Strategic Director Place/Interim
Strategic Director of Corporate Resources/Section 151 Officer, All
Strategic Directors
 

12.4    THE NATIONAL PLANNING POLICY FRAMEWORK AND
THE     GREY BELT
 
As set out in the published agenda Motion 12.4
was moved by Councillor Poulsen and seconded by Councillor
Winnard.
 
 In accordance with Council Standing
Orders 18.4 and 18.8 an amendment (additional published papers
Amendment I) was moved by Councillor Neil Whitaker and
seconded by Councillor Edwards.
 
 In accordance with Council Standing
Orders 18.4 and 18.8 a second amendment (additional published
papers Amendment J) was moved by Councillor Ross-Shaw and
seconded by Councillor Hinchcliffe.
 
Following
a number of speakers in accordance with
Council Standing Order 18.12 Amendment J as set out below was then
put to the vote, was carried and became the substantive motion,
was then voted on and was
carried.         
 
Resolved-
 
That with the
addition and deletion of the appropriate words, the motion be
amended to read as follows:
 
Council notes:
 

•               
There remains a housing crisis in this country that will only be
resolved      by building
more homes, with some estimates suggesting even current
       
government targets of 300,000 homes a year may not be enough to
   meet future demand. The previous
Conservative government scrapped          
housebuilding targets after protests by Conservative MPs that it
meant    houses would be built in
their constituencies.
 

•               
Designating land as Green Belt was first introduced in the 1930s
and         can have
a number of benefits including
preventing communities    
merging and urban sprawl, enhancing biodiversity, access to green
spaces for health and preserving vital agricultural land for food
         
production.
 

•               
Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) research has claimed that
     previously developed
land, half of it with planning permission for      residential development, can
provide 1.4m of the 1.5m government     target for new homes, leaving a net
requirement of land for 100,000   
homes. This is a national figure that doesn’t account for
where homes          
are needed or how this figure is spread geographically.
 

•               
Much brownfield land is economically unviable to develop and would
require significant public investment and subsidy to deliver
housing on       it.
This contributes to sites with planning permission for homes
      
remaining undeveloped. No Planning Authority can adopt a
‘brownfield          
only’ policy and any that tried would quickly incur huge
costs in lost   appeals and risk a
subsequent government intervention.
 

•               
Nonetheless in Bradford we have long prioritised brownfield sites
and          
have drawn in significant inward investment to deliver housing on
such    sites including High Point,
Conditioning House as well as our major          
regeneration programmes such as City Village and the Southern
      Gateway.
 

•               
The changes to the NPPF in December 2024 included a new land
      designation of
Grey Belt that was previously land protected as Green Belt. Houses
built on Grey Belt come with increased requirements such
      as a 50%
affordable housing target and improved local infrastructure.
 

•               
In April 2024, the Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer, stated that
the         additional
land freed up for housing development by the National        Planning Policy
Framework, would be “poor quality scrubland,     mothballed on the outskirts of
town” and “unused car parks and derelict         petrol
stations”. The definition was later expanded to include
previously          
undeveloped land that is felt does not contribute to the principles
of the       Green
Belt.
 

•               
The openness criteria of Green Belt has
inadvertently led to derelict         
buildings and sites sat within the Green Belt even when they have
been commercially active for decades without issue. Once a site is
    demolished it becomes
‘open’, and this incentivises owners and developers to
lead a building rotting and derelict rather than demolish it
     in advance of future
development. The new Grey Belt concept attempts       in part to address this by
making such sites easier to redevelop and     there are several examples of such
sites in the district.
 

•               
New Campaign to Protect Rural England research published on the 7
  December 2025, showed that of the
1,250 homes on the 13    
developments of 10 or more dwellings, permitted due to the
         
introduction of the NPPF, 88% are to be constructed on previously
   undeveloped countryside.
 

•               
Estimates of how much Green Belt land may qualify as Grey Belt vary
       
but generally range from around 3% to less than 10% of the total
         amount
of Green Belt in the country.
 

•               
Bradford’s National Nature Reserve, the Bradford Pennine
Gateway,   provides enhanced protections
for the 3,150 acre area, with all land
       within
the reserve area automatically excluded from potential definition
          as
Grey Belt.
 

•               
The Planning and Infrastructure Bill that was introduced on 11th
March         2025 and is
now enacted, which reduces the scope of planning        committees and gives
more say to planning officers. This has been the       direction of travel for
national planning policy for some time and is    consistent with the previous Conservative
government. The intention is         to reduce
inconsistency and uncertainty in the planning process and
    prevent applications being
rejected that clearly meet planning policy.
 

•               
There is currently a consultation into a revised NPPF that ends on
10th    March with proposed changes
including a “default” position to approve         planning
applications close to stations even if it is Green Belt land. This
         has been
welcomed by pro-housing campaigners as a way of ensuring
         
housing growth is more centred around sustainable transport
     
infrastructure, a common demand from housing-sceptic campaigners.
       
Ministers will also be able to call in and decide on major housing
sites,         those of 150
homes or more, which councils are likely to refuse without
         strong
planning reasons.
 

•               
The proposed definition of Grey Belt stipulates that villages would
no     longer count as
‘large built-up areas’ when considering urban sprawl,
which would leave the focus of this element purely on towns and
cities.       
Bradford is home to a number of villages
with distinct identities and   
while all settlements should take on housing growth, this should be
         
done in a considered and sustainable manner through the Local
Plan.
 

•               
The Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government
consultation exercise to engage with the public over the revised
NPPF       requires
the reading of nearly two hundred pages of detailed planning
      
documents, which is standard for complex planning consultations
    where the target audience
includes planners, developers, agents and   Local Authorities as well as local residents.

•               
Having no adopted Local Plan with a 5-year land supply is being
used           by
developers to apply for planning on inappropriate sites without any
    plans for delivery of
local services. This has long been the case and is    a core reason why Bradford Council has
pushed for the delivery of its          
Local Plan despite three Planning White Papers in six years under
the       previous
Conservative government and our Core Strategy being called
          in
for a year due to a local Conservative MP before being released
without change by the government.
 
Council
resolves:
 

•               
To progress work to deliver a Local Plan for the district as soon
as    possible, providing certainty
for site allocations, strengthening the    Council’s ability to reject
inappropriate housing applications on     unsuitable sites.

•               
To work with partners / stakeholders to lobby government to
       
incorporate measures which incentivise the development of
previously developed land in the areas where new homes are
desperately         needed. The
Brownfield Housing Fund introduced by the previous         government
still had too high a threshold for viability to deliver some
   sites in Bradford and needed
reform.

•               
Encourage residents and stakeholders to submit views over the
       proposed
changes to the NPPF.

•               
Ensure Bradford Council’s response to the NPPF raises the
issue of   villages being removed from
the definition of urban sprawl and ask         government to
consider ways of addressing the need for appropriate       scale and sustainable
development for villages as well as towns and cities.
 
To be actioned
by:  Strategic Director Place
 

12.5    FAILURE TO DELIVER CORE NEIGHBOURHOOD
SERVICES
 
Resolved –
 
That under Council
Standing Order 9.1.6 Motion 12.5 (Failure to deliver core
Neighbourhood Services) be withdrawn from the agenda.
 
12.6    CITY CENTRE ACCESS, PEDESTRIANISATION AND THE
IMPACT          ON THE
TAXI TRADE AND INDEPENDENT BUSINESSES
 
As set out in the published agenda Motion 12.6
was moved by Councillor Elahi and seconded by Councillor
Sajawal.
 
 In accordance with Council Standing
Orders 18.4 and 18.8 an amendment (additional published papers
Amendment N) was moved by Councillor Ross Shaw and
seconded by Councillor Kamran Hussain.
 
 
Following
a number of speakers in accordance with
Council Standing Order 18.12 Amendment N as set out below was then
put to the vote, was carried and became the substantive motion,
was then voted on and was
carried.         
 
Resolved-
 
That with the
addition and deletion of the appropriate words, the motion be
amended to read as follows:
 
This Council notes
that:
 
1.   
Bradford City Centre has undergone significant pedestrianisation
and access changes as part of our Transforming Cities (TCF) work,
itself part of the biggest regeneration programme in the city
centre for generations, creating cleaner, greener streets with a
major new green park at the extended Norfolk Gardens. This work has
won multiple awards including but not limited to:
 
I.              
Best Infrastructure Project and Best of the Best at the Yorkshire
& Humber Constructing Awards,
II.            
Best Infrastructure Project at the National Constructing
Awards,
III.           
the Healthy Transport and Mobility Award at the Healthy City Design
Awards,
IV.          
an Excellence in Place Regeneration Award at the Landscape
Institute Awards, and
V.            
Best Local Authority and Best Council and Commercial Build Project
Awards at the Pro Landscaper Awards.
 
2.   
These works, along with our wider regeneration programme including
the delivery of One City Park, Darley Street Market and Bradford
Live, coupled with our year as UK City of Culture, have increased
footfall in the city centre, providing a boost to the wider
business community, particularly the hospitality sector.
 
3.   
The TCF changes have necessarily altered vehicle access
arrangements, including the amendment of loading bays, relocation
of hackney carriage ranks, moving and increasing the number of
disabled bays across the city centre and a widened pedestrian area
with the expected accompanying controlled access area.
 
4.   
There were two major consultation phases for the TCF works, with
nearly 600 comments received across the two phases and 3,500
visitors to the consultation website. A comprehensive mapping
exercise was undertaken to identify and engage with stakeholders
was undertaken, including writing to over 3,000 properties and
residences in the affected area. A 70-page consultation report
outlining this work in detail was published online in October
2021.
5.   
Licensed taxi drivers were consulted throughout the development of
the scheme and multiple changes have been made throughout based on
their constructive and helpful feedback.
 
6.   
Private hire vehicles can temporarily stop to pick up or drop off
passengers as long as they are not
soliciting for passing trade and this is the case across the
country. There is no such thing as a private hire ‘pick-up
and drop-off point’ on the Highway.
 
7.   
These conversations have continued since the completion of the
works. The Council has recently consulted on an updated City Centre
Access Policy and further amendments to access and parking are being brought forward
shortly.
 
8.   
The construction works to deliver this award-winning public realm
were necessarily disruptive and were compounded by the sudden
closure of the Interchange, which added significant complexity and
accessibility changes to the delivery process, and with such
significant generational changes in the city centre some members of
the public have raised concerns about accessibility under the new
arrangements.
 
9.   
We are working with the West Yorkshire Combined Authority (WYCA)
and the UK City of Culture team on ways to reintroduce the new-look
city centre to people who may be concerned about accessibility and
new layout, building on the successful accredited city centre
walking tours delivered by the UK City of Culture team in 2025.
 
10.A question has been formally
raised through Council Questions Part Two by a member of the
Bradford Independent Group regarding the perceived absence of
lawful private-hire pick-up and drop-off points in key city-centre
locations, including Broadway, Nelson Street outside the bus
station, Manor Row, Cheapside and Kirkgate. The answers to these
questions are being drafted as per the usual process. However, taxi
drivers may pick-up and drop-off legally at the roadside at
all of these locations already.
 
11.The Council has statutory
responsibilities under the Equality Act 2010, including the Public
Sector Equality Duty, to ensure that transport and public-realm
changes do not disproportionately disadvantage disabled people,
older residents, or those with limited mobility who rely on taxis
to access the city centre. Full Equality Impact Assessments were
produced as part of this work, which passed through the West
Yorkshire Combined Authority’s assurance process in addition
to our own Executive Committee process.
 
This Council
believes that:
 
1. Licensed hackney carriage and private-hire
drivers are an essential part of Bradford’s transport system,
providing safe, flexible and accessible travel for residents who
cannot reasonably rely on walking, cycling or buses. Their voices
have been heard throughout the development, delivery and
post-completion of the TCF works and those conversations
continue.
2. City-centre regeneration must be inclusive,
accessible and compliant with the Council’s equality duties,
particularly for disabled residents, older people and those with
limited mobility. The TCF works have been reviewed by multiple
judging panels from across the country and found to be one of the
best regeneration schemes in the UK.
 
This Council
resolves to:
 

Continue engaging with all user
groups of the city centre, including but not limited to the taxi
trade, disability groups, elderly groups, businesses and
others.
Bring forward the next phase of
amendments to parking and access arrangements in and around the
city centre, which are currently being finalised after extensive
engagement.
Share TCF consultation materials and
EIAs with members.
Continue working with WYCA and
Bradford 2025 to deliver accessibility-friendly walking tours in
the city centre and engage relevant user groups to provide
additional assurance and feedback.

 
To be actioned by: Strategic Director,
Place
 

12.7    PROTECTING
LOCAL PUBS AND COMMUNITY SOCIAL SPACES IN BRADFORD
DISTRICT
 
Resolved –
 
That under Council
Standing Order 9.1.6 Motion 12.7 (protecting local pubs and community social
spaces in Bradford District) be withdrawn from the
agenda.
 
 
12.8    BRADFORD SUPPORTS A NATIONAL YEAR OF
READING
 
Resolved –
 
That under Council
Standing Order 9.1.6 Motion 12.8 (Bradford supports a National Year
of Reading) be withdrawn from the agenda.