The pedestrianisation of a huge swathe of Bradford city centre has won another award.
Work that has seen areas like Bridge Street, Hall Ings and Market Street transformed from busy streets to parks and pedestrian areas was recognised with an award at the international Healthy City Design Congress, which was held at The Lowry in Manchester earlier this month.
Bradford picked up the Healthy City Design Award in the Healthy Transport and Mobility category due to the “pioneering approach to designing streets and public spaces around health, wellbeing and equity.”
The awards, which draw entries from across the globe, recognise and celebrate the planning, design and construction of the urban built environment for health and wellbeing, sustainable development, and “planetary health.”
The City Centre Cycling and Walking Improvements scheme has already been recognised with two awards at the Pro Landscaper – Sustainability & Biodiversity Awards and another at the Yorkshire Constructing Excellence awards early this Summer.
For the latest award, the judges said that the scheme, funded through the West Yorkshire Combined Authority’s Transforming Cities Fund, “has created a safer, greener and better-connected city centre through a range of design features and amenities.”
The submission was presented by Dr Saira Ali FLI, Team Leader, Landscape Design & Conservation, and Richard Middleton of Bradford Council, representing a team spanning public health, neighbourhoods, planning and highways, alongside external collaborators including the Bradford Institute for Health Research, Born in Bradford, Yorkshire Sport Foundation and Active Bradford.
Councillor Alex Ross-Shaw, Bradford Council’s Executive Member for Regeneration, Planning and Transport said: “Coming hot on the heels of winning two awards for the sustainability and biodiversity of its landscape design, is this latest much deserved international award for the health aspects of the design of the Bradford City Centre Walking and Cycling Improvement Scheme. Our city centre which was once traffic choked is now a walkable, greener more welcoming and vibrant place, with greater connectivity.”
Councillor Sarah Ferriby, Bradford Council’s Executive Member for Healthy People and Places said: “Access to green spaces and infrastructure that enables people to safely walk and cycle more of their journeys can have a positive impact on the health of our residents.”
Dr Rosie McEachan, Director, Born in Bradford said: “Our research with families in Bradford has shown the fundamental importance of the places in which we live for our health. The changes that Bradford has made to improve local parks and green spaces, opportunities for walking and cycling, and making our streets nicer place for children to play will improve the health of children and families across the city.”
