Communication over Interchange future was 'shocking' - claim

At a meeting of West Yorkshire Combined Authority on Thursday, councillors from across the region were told that the station could finally re-open in early 2025 – over 12 months after it was shut for safety reasons.

The news was welcomed, but some Bradford councillors slammed “shocking” communication from the Authority since the closure, saying there were periods of months where local politicians got next to no information about what the next steps would be.

The bus section of the Interchange was closed for safety reasons in early January after concrete fell from a section of the structure.

The closure has left Bradford without a functioning bus station for over nine months, with routes starting and terminating at stops spread around the city centre.

The issue has been exacerbated by the timing of the closure – the long planned Transforming Cities Fund work to pedestrianise swathes of the city centre began in Spring, leading to further confusion about where people could catch their bus.

Surveys on the bus interchange have been underway for several months, and Thursday’s meeting of the Combined Authority heard that the station could be re-opened if certain measures were put in place.

These include regular inspections and safety netting in the area where the concrete fell in late December.

But a report to members also acknowledged that the 1970s station was coming to the end of its operating life, and said work should be undertaken to find a site for a replacement bus station.

The report said the safety concerns that closed the station were justified, but that the state of the building was not so bad that it needed to be demolished, and remedial works would extend its lifespan.

At the WYCA meeting Bradford Council Leader Susan Hinchcliffe said: “It has been hugely frustrating for the people of Bradford and West Yorkshire who use the interchange on a regular basis.

Bradford Interchange (Image: T&A)

“When the news came out that the Interchange could reopen there was a collective sigh of relief that the end was in sight and it would reopen. The key question now is when and how quickly.”

Members heard that although the report suggested the station could re-open, details of an exact timetable, costs and what the reopening would look like would not be announced until shortly before the next meeting – in late October.

Referring to the suggestion that a new station needed to be built, Cllr Hinchliffe said it would likely incorporate the planned tram system coming to Bradford.

She said: “A bus and tram interchange in the medium to long term would be great to see. But in the short to medium term I’m relieved to have this news that the Interchange can reopen.”

Mayor Brabin has spoken about the Interchange closure during a meeting (Image: Archive) Conservative leader on Bradford Council Rebecca Poulsen said: “There is so much we could say about the Interchange. It hasn’t been handled very well, and passengers have been suffering. It hasn’t helped that the Transforming Cities work has gone on at the same time.

“The station has to open safely, and it has to provide a service that the people of Bradford deserve. Passengers have suffered so much, and as we go into winter with the station still not open it is not going to be a great few months for the people of Bradford.

“The communication has been shocking. In future can we have proper communications about decisions that impact the people of Bradford?”

Councillor Martin Love (Green, Shipley) said: “There has been a lot of confusion among bus users.

“I hope in the October meeting will get into some detail about the costs of all this.

“The communication to Bradford Councillors has been sporadic at best – at times there has been months of silence. We’ve had to go fishing for information.”

Ms Brabin said: “The silence was not out of any desire to keep people out of the process. The surveys that were needed took time. There was no point in repeatedly saying ‘we’re still waiting.’ “We were as frustrated as you, but the safety of the public needed to be our number one focus.

“It has not been ideal – I would not have wanted this to happen. Along with the Transforming Cities Fund work it has compounded the misery for the people of Bradford.

“I once again apologise to the people who use the interchange for all the disruption.”