Stone throwing yobs, nuisance quad bikes and horses illegally tethered on public land are among the issues raised by residents of a Bradford constituency.
Drug dealing and fly tipping have also been identified as some of the major issues facing people living in Bradford South.
Bradford Council is currently drawing up “locality plans” for each of the District’s constituencies. Each of these plans has involved discussions with residents, community groups and services like police to determine the big issues facing each area of Bradford, and what can be done to improve these areas.
The plan for Bradford South has just been published, and reveals a wide variety of issues, from anti-social behaviour and fly tipping to drug dealing and speeding cars.
The Locality Plans, which run until 2025, are being published over the coming weeks, with the Keighley plan having been published earlier this Summer.
For the past year Council officers have been drafting the plan, speaking with services and community groups that operate in the area, as well as residents.
The Bradford South plan will be discussed at a Council meeting on Thursday evening.
Among the suggestions in the report are calls for new village/community centres for “community based training and activities.”
More youth facilities and activities should be provided, and more action should be taken to tackle the high levels of domestic violence and anti-social car and bike use in the area.
The Bradford South plan is accompanied by six ward plans, one for each area in the Constituency.
Although there are some common issues raised for each ward, other problems were specific to certain areas of the Constituency.
Great Horton
- Issues raised by Great Horton residents include drug dealing, anti-social driving and abandoned vehicles.
- The plan suggests more targeted “days of action” by police to deal with these issues, and for results to be heavily publicised.
- Residents should be encouraged to enjoy the area’s green spaces, such as Brackenhill Park, more.
- And there should be more engagement with the ward’s Eastern European communities.
Queensbury
- Issues raised in Queensbury include drug dealing from cars on Station Road, with calls for increase police patrols in this area, and illegal parking around schools.
- Overgrown snickets were raised by residents, as were speeding motorists, with a suggestion that the area’s speed cameras should be updated to digital.
- One suggestion included in the Queensbury plan is to set up a “satellite” base for PCSOs in the village’s Victoria Hall.
- There is also a suggestion that a Council recycling centre should be based in the ward, with the plans saying this idea “needs analysis to determine if this is feasible.”
Royds
- In the Royds ward, which includes Buttershaw, there have been well publicised issues with anti social bike riding and attacks on busses over the Summer.
- In response to the attacks on vehicles, the plan suggests more “Trojan bus” operations be carried out. These police operations see undercover officers travelling in buses to catch out anyone pelting the vehicles with stones.
- It also suggests more targeted police actions to stop anti social bike use in Buttershaw and Woodside, and work to block off spaces used by quad bike riders.
- The plan also suggests more needs to be done to tackle the low rate of recycling in the ward.
- And green areas like Blackshaw Beck and Harold Park should be better promoted.
Tong
- In the Tong ward, which includes Holme Wood, residents also raised concerns about anti-social behaviour, quad bike use and stone throwing.
- Suggestions on tackling the issues include reporting behaviour such as stone throwing to schools, and encouraging more people to report troublemakers in their area.
- This would include reporting where the bikes and cars used by anti-social drivers are kept.
- More youth activities and events should be introduced to give young people productive activities to take part in.
- The plan suggests a “multi agency” approach to deal with horses tethered on Council land. It says there should be horse audits to identify problem areas, and residents should be encouraged to report “horse related issues.”
- The plan suggests cameras be installed at fly tipping hot spots and clear snickets and public areas of rubbish.
- The issues of illegal pavement parking was raised by residents, and the plan suggests street furniture could be added to problem areas such as Tong Street to prevent motorists from mounting and driving on the pavement.
- It also suggests Police and the Council could “enforce existing laws.”
Wibsey
- Issues raised in the Wibsey ward include parking on pavements and grass verges and the use of laughing gas in the area.
- It suggests Trading Standards could run operations to identify which companies are selling laughing gas.
- Fly tipping is another problem that has been identified, and the plan suggests one solution could be closer working with the owners of any patches of land used for dumping waste.
- People will also be encouraged to host CCTV cameras on their property to catch fly tippers in the act.
Wyke
- Inconsiderate or illegal parking around schools was also an issue raised by Wyke residents.
- Drug dealing, nuisance quads, dog fouling and abandoned caravans were other problems raised, leading to calls for more police and Council action, as well as more signage warning people to pick up their dog poo.
- It also calls for a second car park for Low Moor Rail Station.
