Bradford Chamber of Commerce and Bradford Council are to work closer together on finding solutions to the issue of land shortages in the District.
The Chamber recently produced a report on the shortage of development sites for commercial use and how this could impinge on the District’s new economic strategy. The two issues were discussed recently at Bradford Property Forum, a networking/lobby group for businesses in the property and development sector. One of the outcomes was for businesses and the local authority to liaise more in the hope of finding new solutions to the land shortage issue.
The meeting heard how future economic growth within the District will be jeopardised if more land is not made available for development. There is currently around 50% less land available for employment use in Bradford than there was just five years ago, with the Council currently part-way through its planning process to identify appropriate sites.
Presentations from Bradford Council’s Executive member for regeneration and planning, Cllr Alex Ross-Shaw and Assistant Director Julian Jackson were followed by a question-and-answer panel joined by Chartback Development’s Stephen McManus and Marianne McCallum, formerly of Turley. The meeting was chaired by Allan Booth of local architects Rance Booth Smith. The Council representatives acknowledged the issues raised by businesses about employment land shortages, and appealed for the business community to work with them to ease the issue.
Further meetings are due to take place between the Council and the Chamber of Commerce to look at options for resolving the issues raised at the meeting and in the report.
You could also include the link to the next event – https://members.wnychamber.co.uk/WNY_Members/Events/Event_Display.aspx?EventKey=BPL161018
The report can be found at https://www.wnychamber.co.uk/chamber-report-highlights-growth-opportunities/
Bradford’s economic strategy is at https://www.investinbradford.com/economy/economic-strategy-for-bradford-district-2018-2030/
