Plans to boost Thackley woodland awarded grant of almost £200,000

A bid to develop a plan for the Buck Wood Community Woodland scheme was one of a number of local projects that was awarded funding through the Community Renewal Fund.

Another Bradford project, to “unleash the talent of young people to benefit the local economy,” was awarded £535,000.

The funding announcement was expected in July, but was only made last week, with the Government providing little detail of the projects.

Now West Yorkshire Combined Authority has provided detail of the bids.

In total £2.5m worth of funding was announced for West Yorkshire.

The £220m Government pot of cash was introduced to help “support people and communities most in need.” It was part of Boris Johnson’s flagship “Levelling Up” proposals, and would replace funding that the UK lost after leaving the EU.

Of the seven bids receiving funding in West Yorkshire, two were specific to Bradford and one West Yorkshire wide project - a £481,000 scheme to retrofit housing in deprived areas to make them more energy efficient, is likely to include homes in Bradford.

Located between Thackley and the River Aire, Buck Woods covers 42 hectares of land and is popular with walkers.

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The details of the Buck Wood project says the £197,000 funding will be used to create a feasibility study for a new woodland masterplan.

It says: “The aim is to maximise the huge potential within Buck Wood to create safe healthy communities with access to high quality green infrastructure, ready for post-Covid resilience and enabling recovery from the pandemic, by undertaking a feasibility research and development of a new Masterplan and Development Plan for Buck Wood.”

The Building Our Future bid - which was put forward by Bradford Council, was also successful.

The jargon filled description of the scheme says: “The programme consists of three areas to improve inclusion based on improving access to, and addressing gaps in, national programmes, unleashing the talent of young people to benefit local economy, and boosting capacity in the VCS sector - innovative Digital Cave feasibility study, new graduate placement approach and Leaving Care pilot Employment Programme.”

Other bids that were successful include a scheme to boost participation in the arts in Kirklees, which was awarded £244,702 and a Wakefield scheme to increase opportunities to access green jobs, which were awarded £238,000.

Councillor Susan Hinchcliffe, Leader of Bradford Council, said: “It is welcome that these bids have finally been given the green light to get on and deliver.

“The decision from Government is several months late. But it’s good to see the value of the Bradford district bids recognised. Nevertheless when it comes to true levelling up, we continue to make the strongest possible case that we need to see a step change in government investment into the Bradford district. What we really need to see is the kind of sustainable and transformative funding of a whole different scale so that we can deliver on our ambitions. Where better to show how Levelling Up can work than the Bradford district. We have the right ambition, plans and delivery partners in place to make it happen. We urge government to work with us to make Levelling Up in Bradford a reality.”

Local projects 'at risk' due to three month delay in Government funding announcement

Originally the Government had set a deadline of March 2022 for the schemes to be completed. However, the Government has extended this deadline by three months due to their tardiness in announcing the successful bids.

The Mayor of West Yorkshire, Tracy Brabin, said: ‘We welcome this funding for the region and are pleased that the Government has awarded so many projects that link to green infrastructure, unleashing the skills and talent of young people and promoting green careers and skills training.

‘While we are pleased that Government has listened to our concerns and extended delivery deadlines by three months, delays to the funding announcement may still negatively impact some successful bids. It is also disappointing that Calderdale has not been allocated any funding, despite being selected by Government as a ‘priority area.

“Small, short-term pots of funding such as this which force communities to compete in beauty contests will do little to deliver on Government’s levelling up promises. We need greater certainty, security and stability of funding for our region, with proper local control over decision making. This would allow us to be more flexible and innovative, unlocking the enormous potential that exists across West Yorkshire.

“We will continue to engage Government to ensure the new approach to the UK Shared Prosperity Fund meets the needs of our region.”