BRADFORD needs to gradually move away from reliance on industries such as take away and fast food and focus on other growth industries if it wants to bounce back after the Covid pandemic - according to a local professor.

Professor Zahir Irani, Deputy Vice Chancellor, University of Bradford was speaking to Councillors about the District’s Economic Recovery Plan, a document he helped draw up, this week.

In a presentation to the Regeneration and Environment Scrutiny Committee, Prof Irani, chair of the Economic Recovery Board, said increased support for sectors likely to grow in the coming years, such as green energy, would help Bradford’s Covid recovery.

To do this it was important to make sure the District’s workforce had the ability to ‘upskill’- the committee was told.

Bradford would have to entice emerging businesses, with the example of solar panel manufacturing given, or create its own home grown businesses.

Prof Irani said: “We have to move people out of poorly paid, poorly skilled industries by trying to promote new businesses in emerging sectors.

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“I’m not sure we want to focus on supporting the fast food industry. It is a growing industry, but it is not one that would be a priority for me. We should be focusing on other growth sectors. If we don’t have those sectors here then we need to look at creating them in a way we possibly have not done in the past.”

He pointed out that Bradford was home to the only electric ambulance manufacturer in the country - but there were no health trusts in the region currently using them.

Better communication between business, public bodies and these emerging industries could help these local manufacturers to grow.

Chair of the Committee Councillor Kamran Hussain (Lab, Toller) said: “I’ve read the report and it is very extensive. it looks good on paper, but if a local shop owner were to pick it up I don’t think they’d know where to start. It is not clear what the key outcomes actually are.”

Prof Irani said there was already work in place to support local businesses, but much of the proposals included in the report would rely on outside funding. The plan was a long term one, and would require re-skilling Bradford’s residents and attracting new business.

He added: “There is no point trying to cut down on Carbon emissions in Bradford if we don’t have the people on the ground because the skills needed are not there.”

Councillor Nusrat Mohammed (Lab, Heaton) said: “I appreciate trying to pull away from the fast food industry, but that is what we have at the moment. We do have to build on it and retain it. A lot of my constituents do rely on this industry for their income.”

Prof Irani replied: “My reference to fast food was the skills - there is no suggestion we want to take that industry away. It is more about allowing people to move out of this industry by upskilling them. Although we know people will still go into this industry.”

Councillor David Heseltine (Cons, Bingley) praised the report, but wanted assurance that it would be followed up on.

He said: “Bradford writes lots of reports, and a lot of them sit on a shelf and get dusted off every few years.”

He was assured that the document would be followed up on by the Council.