What will Bradford look like in 2040?

Bradford Council with its partners is looking ahead to the next two decades, asking the question: ‘what do we want our city, towns and villages to be like in another 20 years' time, and what will it be like to live, work and play here in 2040?’

Twenty years ago the people of Bradford District created a 2020 vision which set out the hopes and ambitions for how the place and its people might be.

Now that 2020 has arrived, the time has come to look forward to another 20 years.

Over the next six months, the Council and its partners will be inviting views from people across the district on a variety of topics and issues.

City of Culture: Team unveiled to lead Bradford's bid

To help gather these thoughts, the Council has launched a new website called ‘Let’s Talk Bradford District’. This is a place where residents can discuss their ambitions for the district and share their ideas, and stories.

As part of the website we have 2040 Vision hub where residents can tell the Council about your thoughts on the future of Bradford District.

To find out more about this, give feedback and a look at what was done for the 2020 vision visit letstalk.bradford.gov.uk/

There will also be a range of "conversations" across the District where key decision makers will talk with representatives of communities about what the future needs to look like and what part people can play.

Councillor Susan Hinchcliffe, Leader of Bradford Council, said: “The 2020 vision document was an important exercise and helped us anticipate what was to come in the first two decades of the 21st century. More than a few events – at local, national and global scale – meant there were some twists and turns along the way, but despite this, many of the great things we see around us now, and our optimism about the positive changes still to come, came from that 2020 vision.

“Importantly, although the Council convened the conversations that led to the Vision, it was not just a Council vision but one that was shared by all the public, private and voluntary and community sectors, giving us a shared and agreed set of ambitions for the future.

“We know that the future won’t be like today - technology will transform work, lives and public services; tackling the climate emergency will mean there’ll be new jobs and opportunities; and we’ll have different ways to heat our homes and travel.

“We already have big plans - for a high speed rail station on the Northern Powerhouse line, for better local public transport, for better skills and a stronger economy with better jobs, and for us to live in a place where everyone can thrive and everyone is healthy, active and fulfilled.

“Our 2040 vision will tie in with all our future-focused work including our support of the bid for Bradford District to become UK’s City of Culture for 2025, as well as our work on climate emergency, and our ambition to be a Child Friendly District –we’ll be taking all opportunities to seek views on the issues which will shape the next 20 years."