Future of Baildon reservoir site is finally revealed

But it is likely to take three years to restore the site – and one Councillor has raised concerns that Bradford Council’s financial situation could delay any work to transform the site.

Baildon Reservoir is a 3.9-acre site on Baildon Moor.

Most recently the site was used for the dumping of construction waste – with the site’s former owner appearing in court over the issue last year.

Bradford Council took legal ownership of the site in 2021 after a lengthy legal case with the former owner, and this week the authority has announced that the first steps have been taken towards transforming the site into a wetland habitat.

The authority says the work will have “multiple benefits for nature and the surrounding area". 

The authority said before the land can be restored, a process that is likely to take at least three years, several elements will need to be carried out.

These include

• Careful analysis of the ground investigation data and a full appraisal of options for remediation of the tipped material

• Proposal for treatment or removal of the boundary walls and other ‘hard’ features

• Common land and other legal issues

• Planning consent

• A detailed proposal which incorporates the above

• Finding funding sources to undertake the work and deliver the project.

A Council spokesman said: “The eventual goal will be to create a wetland habitat.

“This would encourage the formation of peat and active blanket bog which would increase biodiversity, make the land more resistant to wildfire and protect the surrounding area from flooding.

“Peat has been shown to store twice as much carbon as forests, so it is a powerful force against the effects of greenhouse gases.”

Baildon Reservoir (Image: Baildon Town Council)

In March Clive Andrew Jones,  then 61 and of Westgate Hill Street, appeared at Bradford and Keighley Magistrates' Court, and was ordered to pay over £11,600 after admitting to dumping construction waste on two sites in the district.

One of these sites was the Baildon reservoirs, onto which he allowed over 2,300 tonnes to be dumped on the site – which he had purchased in 2015.

Jones had claimed the material was dumped there to shore up the reservoirs, as the aim was to build homes on the site.

But the Environment Agency believed he was charging builders to dump their waste here without having to pay costs such as landfill tax.

Since the Council took ownership of the site there have been few updates on the plans for the future of the reservoirs.

Councillor Alex Ross-Shaw, Bradford Council’s portfolio holder for regeneration, transport and planning, said: “The work needed to achieve a wetland habitat which would compliment the existing moorland will not be possible without a long process to remediate and restore the land. But it will be worth it for the great benefits it will reap for the site and for the people of Baildon.”

The Council added: “Once a feasible outline scheme is developed, it will be shared with the public whose views and local knowledge will contribute to the development of the project.

“The work will go ahead subject to funding being found.”

Councillor Gill Dixon, Chair of Baildon Town Council, added: “At long last we can work in partnership with Bradford Council as the new owner of this important site, and begin the process of site restoration.

“Baildon Moor is of great importance to local residents and we are delighted to begin the long process to restore the site in it’s natural moorland setting.

“Given the recent history of the site, both councils agree that natural remediation and restoration is the only way forward and this will be a long and expensive process.

"Once a feasible outline scheme is developed, it is hoped to share this with the public so that the wealth of local knowledge can be utilised in development of the project”.

Councillor Mike Pollard (Cons, Baildon) said “The site visit and subsequent discussions we had were very useful and pointed a way forward which would be the best and most practical outcome. The problem lies in the very last sentence of the press release – ‘the work will go ahead subject to funding being found’.

“In the context of the Council’s financial bus crash, that might be a significant problem.”