A NATIONAL conference pushing for Britain to become a Dutch-style cycling society is heading to Bradford this year.

The event will see Bradford - once dubbed the UK’s least bicycle-friendly city - become this year’s poster child for everyday cycling.

Cycle City Active City, billed as Europe’s largest conference and exhibition for cycling and active travel, will be held in May at the National Media Museum, the Alhambra Theatre and City Park.

Rod Fletcher, the managing director of organisers Landor, said: “We are excited to be bringing Cycle City Active City to Bradford.

“You can sense the city is finding a new way forward. This a particularly interesting time for our nation and international delegates to visit the city.”

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Bradford will be the UK’s fifth Cycle City Active City, following on from Birmingham, Leeds, Newcastle and Leicester.

The conference will involve presentations from experts in active travel policy, infrastructure design and delivery, the marketing of behaviour change and public health campaigns.

Councillor Keith Wakefield, West Yorkshire Combined Authority’s transport chairman, said delegates would be shown the latest efforts to get Bradfordians on their bikes, such as the new CityConnect cycle superhighway to Leeds, as well as work being done to address "poor health and low air quality".

Councillor Sarah Ferriby, Bradford Council’s executive member for environment, sport and culture, added: “We are delighted to be hosting the Cycle City Active City in Bradford.

“2017 is going to be an exciting year for Bradford in terms of cycling, with key events being stage three of the Tour de Yorkshire starting in Bradford city centre and going through the district, the Women in Cycling Conference and now this conference and exhibition."

The Netherlands has long been seen as a world-leader for investment in cycling and high rates of commuting by bike, with its flat topography considered a major advantage.

Whether Bradford and its steep hills can follow suit remains to be seen - less than 1 per cent of people commute to work by bike in the district, compared to 2.8 per cent nationally, according to the latest Census.

In 2010, Cycling Plus Magazine rated Bradford the country’s worst city for cycling, citing factors such as high pollution, road quality, levels of theft and a lack of car-free cycle routes.

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