Civic society say city's pedestrian streets have become a 'free for all' as it emerges just six out of city centre's 34 automated bollards are working

And many of the bollards have been broken for over three years.

The figures have emerged from a Freedom of Information Request to Bradford Council, and show that some streets that are intended to be closed to traffic most of the time, such as Ivegate and Rawson Place, are free for cars to travel through, and park on, much of the day.

Bradford Council has said its “stretched”maintenance budget meant they were unable to repair the bollards, and that officers were looking at “cheaper” options to control traffic in pedestrian zones.

Wardens have also handed out over 1,000 fines in 18 months to cars parked in pedestrian areas.

Si Cunningham, Chair of the Bradford Civic Society, said the situation needed to be dealt with as “a matter of urgency” and that the issue was hindering city centre regeneration.

The Council is currently responsible for 34 automatic bollards through the city centre, including eight at the top and bottom of Rawson Place, two on Channing Way at the entrance to City Park, and two at the top of Ivegate.

When asked how many of these are not currently operational, the Council responded: “There are currently 28 automatic bollards which are not operational.”

The Council says those bollards that aren’t working have not been operational for three years.

Operational bollards include the two on Channing Way, which allow access to City Park and City Hall. But broken bollards elsewhere mean that cars regularly park up on pedestrian areas, or use these roads as short cuts.

When asked the reason for the bollards not working, the Council responded: “The major reason is due to hydraulic failure, with the exception of the auto bollards at the Kirkgate/Piccadilly junction, which were badly damaged by a delivery vehicle exiting Kirkgate in June 2018. The bollards themselves have now been replaced although work is still outstanding on the hydraulics.”

When asked if there was any budget to repair them, the Council responded: “There is currently no specific budget allocated to the repair of these bollards as maintenance of city centre infrastructure including pavement repairs, lining renewals etc is funded from a common budget which is £38,000 for the 2018/19 financial year. However, a review of the appropriateness of the use of these bollards is underway to look at alternative security provision for the city centre.”

Si Cunningham, Chair of Bradford Civic Society, said: “The bollard situation needs sorting as a matter of urgency, as some of our city centre streets have become an absolute free-for-all and a real danger for pedestrians.

“It totally undermines the regeneration efforts of the council as well as all the hard work of Bradford businesses if a few selfish drivers are allowed to do whatever they want on streets like Ivegate and Rawson Place.

“I’ve been in touch with both the Council and the police commissioner to see what can be done and there seems to be a bit of confusion over who’s responsible for what, but I think we’ll see some positive action soon. One thing everyone can agree upon is that it’s time to take back our streets.

“If £120,000 can be found to introduce a 20 MPH limit, which I don’t think will have any impact at all, then surely some budget can be found to make the streets safe for pedestrians.”

A Council spokesperson, said: “All pedestrian areas in the city centre have ‘No Loading’ restrictions between 10:30am and 4:30pm. Outside these hours vehicles can load and unload goods for up to 30 minutes and Blue Badge holders can park for up to three hours.

“We are aware of this problem and in the last 18 months our wardens have issued over 1,000 fines for cars illegally entering pedestrian areas.

“Unfortunately, government cuts have meant the maintenance budget has to be stretched across a number of areas. We’re looking at how we can prioritise affordable repairs and some cheaper options to control traffic in pedestrian zones.”