Local councillor suspended by Labour following MP intervention, Bradford Council sets out 4-year plan ...
... Yorkshire Water hit with pollution fine, Ilkley Town Council annual meeting date revealed and more in our roundup of news this week in Ilkley, Bradford and West Yorkshire 🗞️
LOCAL
Ilkley Town Council’s annual town meeting to be held on Wednesday 18 March
Ilkley Town Council’s (ITC) annual town meeting for 2026 will be held on Wednesday 18 March at the Clarke Foley Community Hub.
During the meeting the Ilkley Citizen Awards will also feature, with awards being handed out for young volunteer of the year, environmental champion of the year, voluntary organisation of the year, volunteer of the year and outstanding citizen of the year.
“During the meeting, councillors will also be unveiling plans for the much-needed refurbishment of the South Hawksworth Street public toilets,” ITC said.
The annual town meeting will start from 7pm but there will be a showcase from local community organisations from 6.30pm. Refreshments will kindly be provided by Bettys.
ITC has lately been busy gathering the views of residents about the car parking changes that have been introduced by Bradford Council in Ilkley, which it says are detrimental to both residents and businesses and confusing.
Bradford Council’s response to the canvassing of opinions was that while Ilkley Town Council was free to carry out such activity, it did not represent a “formal consultation” endorsed by the local authority, the BBC reported.
Keighley and Ilkley MP criticises ongoing traffic problems on Victoria Avenue
The MP for Keighley and Ilkley has once again criticised the traffic delays that have been caused by ongoing road works near Victoria Avenue in Ilkley.
Robbie Moore took to Facebook to highlight the lack of impact that “tweaks” made by Bradford Council have had on congestion in and around the area, explaining that it can sometimes take up to 20–30 minutes to get through the town.
Moore said that it was having a “hugely detrimental impact on passing trade” for local businesses, as well as being a massive “inconvenience for residents”.
“The works are currently due to go on until the end of March,” the Conservative MP went on to say. “It is still only February. No works are taking place on weekends or into the weekday evenings.
“This seems ridiculous given the hugely damaging impact this is having in Ilkley. I cannot understand why this programme of works was signed off without extended working hours included.”
Moore added that he had put in a request for an onsite meeting with Bradford Council’s highways department but that they had “so far they have refused to meet”.
One respondent to his post commented: “[It] would actually help if they worked a proper working day!”
Another said: “It would be nice if you saw anyone working between 9am and 2pm.”
DISTRICT
Bradford sets out four-year vision with council plan
Bradford Council has published details setting out its vision for transforming the district over the next four years.
The “Council Plan” outlines the strategic approach the local authority will take to create a healthier and happier community that “thrives together”.
There are four key pillars to the plan. They are growth and regeneration (to create more wealth that can be reinvested in the district), healthy and happy residents (transforming healthcare to improve long-term health), safe and strong communities (reducing crime), and “a great place to grow up” (enabling kids to have have the best start to life and adults to find gainful employment).
“The city centre has transformed with key regeneration projects up and running,” said Susan Hinchcliffe, the Labour leader of Bradford Council. “The towns fund is delivering new investments into Keighley and Shipley, while UK City of Culture has and continues to change perceptions, attract visitors and investors, and foster confidence and pride in all corners of the district.
“We recognise that there is still work to do and we must go further and faster to raise educational attainment and skills, transform transport infrastructure, build affordable homes and double down on tackling inequality, increasing income and prosperity and securing better health.”
The Council Plan, which you can read in detail here, should not be confused with the Built Different 2025–2035 strategic plan, which is a decade-long transformation strategy. We will have more on this next month.
Government approves Bradford Council’s £78 million request for EFS for 2026–27
The UK government has confirmed that Bradford Council will receive £78 million in exceptional financial support (EFS) for 2026–27, along with a number of other councils.
The local authority has already requested £127.1 million for 2025–26, £120 million for 2024–25 and £80 million for 2023–24 to help it balance its books after running into financial difficulties.
EFS is not a grant. It’s a capitalisation direction, which is a mechanism that allows local authorities to basically treat revenue costs as capital costs.
In other words, as the council explained in February 2024, it enables local authorities “to borrow money, sell assets and to manage its debt over the longer term”.
Announcing the latest requests for EPS, Alison McGovern, the minister for local government and homelessness said that Labour were “determined to begin to break the cycle of increasing numbers of councils entering EFS” through funding reforms.
Louise Gittins, chair of the Local Government Association, commented that while it is welcome news that funding levels have increased in recent years after years of underfunding, the latest announcement in EFS support laid bare the severity of the financial situation facing local authorities.
“[It] further demonstrates that EFS arrangements are no longer exceptional, but are becoming an ever more relied upon mechanism to support councils facing severe financial pressures,” she explained.
“Despite a much-needed multi-year funding settlement, which has improved councils’ financial certainty, real concern remains over the sector’s capacity to cope over the coming years and we will continue to argue for more money for local government, alongside public sector reform.”
At a meeting of the executive on Tuesday 24 February, the leader of Bradford Council, Susan Hincliffe, said that the new multi-year settlement announced by the government would enable the council to avoid having to seek EFS after the upcoming financial year.
“After that we won’t have to borrow anymore and that is wonderful as it was going to be another,” she said. “The new settlement brings it forward and means we’re going to be financially stable much earlier than we were going to be.”
CONSTITUENCY
Keighley Central Labour councillor is suspended after MP calls for his removal
A Keighley Central councillor has reportedly been suspended by the Labour party after the MP for Keighley and Ilkley brought up his past conviction for attacking a man with a pickaxe in the House of Commons this week.
The Conservative Robbie Moore asked the prime minister, Keir Starmer, to suspend Moshin Hussain from the party and “prevent him standing as a Labour candidate” in the upcoming elections in Bradford this May this week and his request appears to have paid off.
It’s unknown why Hussain’s past conviction was brought up by Moore and why it has led to the councillor being suspended given that when he first announced his intention to run as a candidate in 2021 under Labour he was transparent about the attack that took place in 2014. He subsequently won the seat and was re-elected in 2024.
“When I was elected in 2021, I did not hide from my past,” Hussain said. “I told the press myself that as a teenager I made a poor decision, one I regret deeply. Since then, I have worked tirelessly to serve our communities in Keighley Central with integrity and dedication.”
He said that on the two occasions he has stood for Keighley Central, voters, who have always been aware of his past conviction as a teenager (he was 19 at the time), have “still placed their trust in me”.
He went on to say he was part of a community that believed in and valued the idea of people having “second chances”.
“We encourage our young people to learn from mistakes, to rehabilitate, and to contribute positively to society,” he explained. “I am proud that I was given that opportunity and I have repaid that trust through five years of hard work and visible service.
“The truth is, this is not about the past. This is about politics. When the MP was elected, there were two Conservative councillors in this ward. Today, there are none.
“Instead of focusing on the real issues he was elected to address, he has chosen low-level personal attacks against a hard-working Labour councillor just months before an election. It is predictable. It is politically motivated. And it is a distraction from the issues that actually matter to residents.”
In 2014, Hussain, whose late father was Abid Hussain, a former lord mayor of Braford, received a suspended 12-month sentence for the violent attack in Keighley and ordered to carry out 250 hours of community service.
We understand that since then Hussain has, in addition to his work as a councillor, set up an organisation with his sibling in Keighley that provides immigration and asylum advice.
Of the attack that happened 12 years ago, Moore said on Facebook: “What message does it send to victims of violent crime who now see their convicted attackers in positions of power locally? Or to victims of serious drug crime who see our local councillors keeping such company?”
In 2021, the then Conservative government published research that revealed around 80% of the public believe that businesses who give offenders a second chance “are making a positive contribution to society”.
The then deputy prime minister, lord chancellor and justice secretary, Dominic Raab said at the time: “Business owners have told me ex-offenders are among the most reliable and motivated workers in their team – they have a desire to prove themselves trustworthy and they have something to lose.
“It’s a win for society too – ex-offender with jobs are paying their taxes and are significantly more likely to turn their backs on crime and stay on the straight and narrow.
“I want to see new opportunities for ex-offenders opening up and reoffending coming down.”
We asked the local Labour party to comment on the suspension and the reason behind it and had at the time of writing received no reply. We also asked Hussain, who has spoken to other local news organisations for a comment and have also yet to hear back from him.
COUNTY
Yorkshire Water hit with big pollution fine
Yorkshire Water has been hit with a large fine for polluting Poolsbrook Country Park in Staveley three times over a 12 month period.
The private water company has received a bill of £733,333 for discharging sewage into the stream on three occasions in a year.
Describing this level of pollution as “unacceptable”, Alan Lovell, chair of the Environment Agency, said that he was “pleased” that Yorkshire Water had been properly dealt with by the courts.
The environment secretary, Emma Reynolds, added: “This repeated sewage pollution by Yorkshire Water is appalling and the £733,333 fine handed out today sends a clear message that polluters will pay.
“Our water reforms will clean up our rivers, lakes and seas. We have already banned unfair bonuses for water bosses and introduced tough new penalties to crack down on pollution.”
In October 2025, Yorkshire Water was named as one of three water companies most responsible for an increase in serious pollution incidents.
In December the water company announced that the hosepipe ban introduced in July had been lifted following one of the driest springs on record.
In contrast, much of the UK has experienced daily rain since the start of the new year, with some parts experiencing record levels for January.
West Yorkshire mayor lands in Europe to “deepen economic ties”
The mayor of West Yorkshire travelled with over a dozen delegates to Europe to deepen economic ties with what the West Yorkshire Combined Authority described as some of the continent’s “most advanced industrial regions”.
Tracy Brabin visited Switzerland and Germany to bolster trade specifically across three core sectors: financial and digital services, health technology and advanced manufacturing.
Describing Europe as the UK’s most important trading partner – in 2024, the European Union accounted for 41% of all exports with imports from the EU totalling 51% – Brabin said that devolution would enable the region to benefit more profoundly from greater cooperation.
“Over the next five days, we’ll showcase our multimillion-pound healthtech investment zone, champion our Northern Square Mile of global financial and professional services firms, and create new export opportunities for our world-class manufacturers,” she said ahead of the trip.
“Together, we’ll build international relationships that will stand the test of time and help us build a brighter West Yorkshire that works for all.”
The delegates in attendance were from:
Huddersfield based AI-powered neurodivergent platform MAGI
Leeds-headquartered full-service digital consultancy Hippo Digital
Leeds based The Data City (also based in Leeds)
Leeds based Ionix
The University of Huddersfield
The University of Leeds
Huddersfield-based ACCU
Leeds-based Fintech North
Leeds-based Whitecap Consulting
Calderdale-based Electra Commercial Vehicles
Leeds-based Madeby Studio
Leeds-based Space Hub Yorkshire
Leeds-based Zygens
Leeds-based Rebuilding Society
Bradford-based BL Clients
Bradford-based African Business Association Yorkshire
NextGen Zero (not based in West Yorkshire but a “business partner is”)
Leeds gets its first batch of on-street EV charge points
Leeds has installed four electric vehicle (EV) on-street charge points in the city for the first time as it continues to push ahead with its ambition to be the first net zero city in the UK.
The charge points have been installed on St Paul’s Street and are part of a wider rollout of EV charge points that will be mounted across the city in key locations (both on- and off-street).
Mohammed Rafique, executive member for climate, energy, environment and green space on Leeds City Council, said that it was also part of the local authority’s strategy to encourage and empower more people to “make more sustainable choices”.
“Although the best choice is always cycling, walking or travelling by public transport, we know that this is not always an option,” he explained.
“We want to make it easy for people to switch to electric or hybrid vehicles and this first public on-street EV charge point is an important step towards delivering a comprehensive charging network that meets the needs of our residents and visitors.”
Leeds Council aims to be carbon neutral by 2030, 20 years ahead of the national target that has been enshrined in law and eight years ahead of Bradford Council’s 2038 target deadline.
You can read more about what it’s done here.
NATIONAL
Government pledges £4 billion to implement “generational reforms” to the SEND system
The UK government announced “generational reforms” to the special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) system to the tune of a £4 billion investment.
At the heart of the transformation, which features in the Every child achieving and thriving whitepaper, will be improved and more tailored support for children with additional needs from early years and schools through to colleges.
This reflected a more broad approach to education, the education secretary explained in her foreword, extending from early years through to college.
“Schools’ curricula must be rich and broad, building every child’s knowledge and their skills so our young people step into a world of change confident in their ability to shape it,” Bridget Phillipson said.
“Enrichment will be not just for those who can afford to pay, but a common entitlement for all. We will support schools’ roles as educators and anchors in our communities, because we know that education doesn’t begin and end with the school bell.”
In December 2025, Bradford Council announced that it approved plans to create an additional 450 SEND school places throughout 2026.
The cost of providing the extra places was estimated at £22.5 million, which the council said would be funded through the local authority’s SEND-specific high needs provision capital allocations (HNPCA) central government grant funding.
You can read the whitepaper here.