Environment

Bradford District covers an area of approximately 400 square km and has a varied environment which ranges from moorlands in the north and west of the district, to the valleys and floodplain's formed by the river systems flowing through the District. Surprisingly two-thirds of the District is rural; and the topography means that most of the industrial and residential development has taken place along the valley bottoms, with the majority of the population living in the urban centres of Bradford, Shipley, Bingley, Keighley and Ilkley.

Transport

Rising vehicle numbers and increased use of cars causes significant traffic congestion and noise in urban areas and contributes to local air pollution. Road traffic is a major contributor to emissions of carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxides, volatile organic compounds, and particulate matter less than 10 microns in diameter

* Car ownership

Between 1991 and 2001, the total number of cars owned in Bradford rose by 28% (the national figure was 23%). The proportion of households with no car fell from 41% to 33%, over the same period. The 2001 figure for England and Wales is 27%. Forecasts for car ownership show that this trend is set to continue, between 2001 and 2011 car ownership is set to rise by 19% in Bradford compared with a national forecast of around 16%.

* Traffic

Between 1979 and 1992 all day traffic in Bradford District increased significantly (by 45%); in the following ten years this leveled off - with an increase of only 0.7%. Peak traffic flow (which is measured biannually on a cordon between the City Centre and the Outer Ring Road) for the period 1993 - 2001 shows that there has been no increase in the amount of traffic during the morning peak hour, although traffic has increased by 5% during the evening peak hour (most of this growth was inbound traffic). Forecast traffic growth between 2002 and 2012 shows an increase in car journeys of 13% in Bradford District.

* Public Transport

The percentage of people using public transport in West Yorkshire has been increasing. The percentage of rail users increased by 28% between 1993/4 and 1999/2000. Since then the works at Leeds Station and the rail operator's staffing problems have affected growth, however patronage in 2002/3 was still 2% higher. In the absence of additional investment, Government forecasts indicate that the percentage of rail users is to rise by just 1.5% in the ten years to 2012.

The percentage of bus users declined by 15% between 1993/4 and 1999/2000; in the last three years the percentage has increased by 2%, but without additional investment is forecast to fall by 4% in the ten years to 2012.

* Road Injuries

The Government has set a number of targets for reductions in the numbers of people killed or injured in road accidents: 40% fewer people killed or seriously injured, 50% fewer children killed or seriously injured, and 10% fewer in the slight casualty rate (the number of people slightly injured per 100 million vehicle kilometres).

An extra target added from the West Yorkshire Local Transport Plan 2000/1 is 50% fewer pedestrian injuries.

The total number of accidents rose slightly during 2002 to 2,246. The average for the previous five years was 2,360.
There were 26 fatal accidents in 2002 and this figure has remained unchanged for the past four years.
There was a significant reduction in the number of pedestrians injured in 2001 - the casualty total - 463 is the lowest ever recorded in Bradford District.
The number of children killed or seriously injured increased to 74 during 2001. (This increase is not thought to be statistically significant).

Waste Management and Recycling

The Government estimates that over 100 million tonnes of waste (household, industrial and commercial) are produced in England and Wales each year, and that this will increase by 1.5% annually. Most of this waste is commercial and industrial, and just over a third is already recycled or composted. Only a small proportion is household waste - less than 10% of this is recycled. Government targets include: recycling or composting at least 25% of household waste by 2005, (this increases to 33% by 2015).

The Government's Best Value Performance Indicators show that in 2001/2 an average of 418 kg/per head of household waste was collected in Bradford, this is lower than any of the other local authorities in West Yorkshire, and lower than the average for the rest of England (433.6kg/head). A customer satisfaction survey carried out in 2002, showed that the majority of respondents were fairly or very satisfied with household waste collection (83%) and recycling facilities available (54%). However, Bradford disposed of 90% of household waste using landfill methods, this is the second highest percentage in West Yorkshire, (after Wakefield with 93%), and considerably higher than the average for the rest of the country (74%).

Bradford spends more money per Km2 to keep land clear of litter and refuse, than the rest of West Yorkshire. In 2001/2 Bradford spent £160,355; more than twice as much as Calderdale and Kirklees, and more than the average for the rest of England (£135,605). Despite this, satisfaction amongst local people is falling - a survey carried out on 2000 showed that 46% of respondents were very or fairly satisfied that the Council kept land clear of litter and refuse, when this survey was repeated in 2002, this figure had fallen to 43%.

Pollution

Three river systems serve the District; the Aire, the Wharfe and some tributaries of the Calder. The quality of the nation's river water is monitored and graded by the Environment Agency. Samples are collected at different times of year and the results for three consecutive years are combined to produce an overall grade. The rivers are graded from A (very good) to F (bad).

A summary of the test results from the Environment Agency (according to the General Quality Assessment for chemicals, but does not include pesticides or other pathogens) shows that the water quality is more likely to be poor or bad in the urban areas such as the centre of Bradford, and in the becks to the south of the district which drain towards the Calder catchment. The Aire catchment tends to have better water quality until it reaches the confluence with Bradford Beck in Shipley. The Wharfe water quality tends to be very good through the north of the district.

* Air Quality

The Government estimates that air pollution in the UK kills between 12,000 and 24,000 people prematurely each year. Bradford experiences an average of 6 days each year when pollution is classified as "moderate or higher".

The Environment Act of 1995 set out a new system of local air quality management (LAQM). Each local authority reviews air quality in its area, and assesses present and likely future air quality against objectives laid out in the Air Quality Regulations 2000. Bradford Council has been monitoring real-time air pollution levels since 1999 at four locations in Bradford, Shipley, Bingley and Keighley.

A review and assessment for the District carried out in January 2001 concluded that the air quality objectives prescribed by the Air Quality Regulations 2000 are likely to be met for all the pollutants under review. However, fine particles (from a number of different sources); and nitrogen dioxide (mainly from traffic pollution) are the two pollutants likely to have the most impact in the District. A second review and assessment of air quality in the District will be completed by the end of 2003.

* Climate Change

One of the main global concerns is climate change resulting from the emission of greenhouse gases. Human activities such as burning fossil fuels to generate electricity have been largely to blame.

The UK government has taken a leading role in ensuring that other Governments sign up to the Kyoto Protocol; and has made a commitment to reduce greenhouse gases by 60% by 2050. Bradford has signed the Nottingham Declaration which commits the authority to work with its local communities and use a seven point action plan to address the issue of climate change.

* Contaminated Land

All local authorities were required by the Environment Act 1995 to produce a strategy for dealing with contaminated land in their area. This means each local authority has to carry out a detailed inspection of their area for contaminated land and identify remediation. Within the district, two potential contamination sites are being investigated.

* Biodiversity

"Biodiversity" is a blanket term for the variety of plants and animals and the interdependency between them. In recent decades the activities of people have destroyed the habitats of many of these wild animals and plants - mostly as a consequence of agriculture and development.

Bradford has a wide range of habitats from lowland grassland and upland pastures to woodlands, moorlands, river valleys, other watercourses and wetlands, including many reservoirs. The Bradford Biodiversity Action Partnership (led by the Council, along with other environmental agencies and the local community) is currently developing a Local Biodiversity Action Plan to protect a number of nationally and locally important species and habitats, which are under threat.

Conservation Areas

The District has a large number of interesting and architecturally important buildings, mostly constructed from local stone. There are 5,500 listed buildings and 57 conservation areas in the District. The model village of Saltaire has also been inscribed as a World Heritage Site.

More Information

Information about local businesses and the environment see Bradford Business Environment Forum at http://www.bbef.org.uk

Information about air pollution measured at the Government owned site in Bradford can be seen at http://www.airquality.co.uk

Information about local species and habitats protected under the Biodiversity Action Plan can be seen at: