BRADFORD BID has a new recruit in its campaign to brighten up the city centre – a glorious sunshine-yellow water bowser.

Bradford Business Improvement District (BID), which has just finished installing 168 hanging baskets – bringing a vibrant splash of colour to many of the city’s most important thoroughfares – has invested in the giant water carrier to help keep the blooms in tip-top order throughout the summer.

The new bowser, purchased with the help of The Broadway shopping centre, will be out every week throughout the summer keeping the magnificent floral displays watered.

The BID has employed a local firm, JD Cleaning Services, to operate the bowser and keep the plants fresh.

The contract is part of the BID’s determination to do business with local companies wherever possible and it follows the decision to award the contract for the hanging baskets to Canal Road-based ACW Garden Centres for the second successive year. The baskets were grown and prepared by the team at ACW’s Woodbank Nurseries, in Harden Road, Harden, before being delivered to the city centre last week.

Bradford BID manager Jonny Noble said: “As it says on our new bowser, the BID is all about local companies working together to make the city centre ‘Bloomin’ Marvellous!’

“Now that many of the Covid restrictions have been eased and the so-called ‘Freedom Day’ is in sight, we are encouraging more and more people to come along and ‘Rediscover Bradford’ and we want it to look its best for them.

“This is the third year we have installed hanging baskets and we know that – along with our five-year programme of deep cleaning for the city streets - they are hugely popular with residents and visitors alike.

“They set off our beautiful architecture perfectly and help the city centre feel brighter and more welcoming but we need to keep them healthy and well-watered so we’re very grateful to James Dunn at JD Cleaning Services for taking on the job, on top of some of the excellent work he does clearing up graffiti and restoring street furniture on our behalf.”

BID chairman Ian Ward said: “The BID’s focus is all about making the city centre cleaner, safer and more attractive for the people who live, work, visit and enjoy their leisure time here so that businesses can thrive and grow.

“It’s vitally important that we make the best of our streets so that we encourage not just local people to Rediscover Bradford but visitors from across the country to visit, enjoy their time here and come back again and again.

“More than ever, the shops and traders in our city centre need support to help them overcome the impact of the pandemic on their livelihoods.

“Simple things like installing these lovely floral hanging baskets and keeping them looking fresh and healthy can say a lot about a place.

“It’s really important that we present ourselves to the world as the welcoming, colourful and vibrant city we want to be, not just for local business but for all those local people they employ who rely so much on the success of the city centre for their livelihoods.

“And there’s nothing like a display of colourful flowers to put a spring in everyone’s step!”