Mass transit delayed, Bradford Council criticised, CAZ praised ...

The latest news in Ilkley, the Bradford District and West Yorkshire rounded up 🗞️

Dec 21, 2025

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LOCAL

Holden Grange Care Group to bring back care to Troutbeck

Holden Grange Care Group has announced that it has acquired the property that was formerly home to Troutbeck Care Home.

The company said that it would be looking to restore the historic building with a “full, considered renovation” to create a new “high-quality care home”.

Holden Grange Care Group said that 80 to 90 jobs would be created across care, hospitality, management and support roles.

Announcing the acquisition and refurbishment, the group noted how the building had a storied past as a hotel. Not only did Charles III stay there but it also hosted a Jimi Hendrix gig in the ballroom.

Troutbeck Care Home, which was managed by the Maria Mallaband Care Group, closed in 2024 following a damning report by the Care Quality Commission.

Sheila Grant, deputy director of operations in the north for the CQC, told the BBC last year: “A poor culture had developed among staff at all levels, with some displaying a disregard for people’s health and welfare which placed people at risk of harm and neglect.”

DISTRICT

Bradford Culture Company Ltd to continue into early 2027 to build on City of Culture legacy

The charity company set up to deliver Bradford’s City of Culture programme in 2025 will continue until March 2027 to build on the legacy of the year-long cultural extravaganza.

Bradford Culture Company Ltd will be tasked with continuing to develop and produce events with existing and new funding streams to extend the City of Culture’s impact beyond 2025.

Bradford Council claims that more than £39 million in investment has been secured over the past 12 months as a result of Bradford’s tenure as the City of Culture.

In a joint statement, Dan Bates, executive director of Bradford UK City of Culture, and Shanaz Gulzar, creative director of Bradford Culture Company, said they were “honoured to put Bradford people and its cultural sector at the heart of the year-long programme”.

They added: “This new partnership with Bradford Council allows us to build on that success and continue to collaborate with our sector, open up access to our volunteering programme and create fresh opportunities for creatives and audiences alike, ensuring the impact of 2025 leaves a lasting mark across the district.”

Two of the highlights of the year-long celebration include Cartwright Hall hosting the Turner Prize (in the 250th anniversary year of J. M. W. Turner’s birth no less) and putting on an interactive performance of The Railway Children, which involved a steam train ride from Keighley to Oxenhope where a specially built auditorium in the engine shed awaited.

Bradford’s Clean Air Zone ‘cutting pollution-related ill health’

The Clean Air Zone (CAZ) introduced in Bradford in 2022 is having a significant impact on the health of residents and workers in the city by reducing pollution-related ill health.

This is according to a new study by the Centre for Health Economics (CHE) at the University of York and Born in Bradford, which reported that a year after the scheme was launched there was a 25% reduction in GP visits for respiratory health and a 24% reduction for cardiovascular health on average each month.

In addition to that, the research suggested that around £180 million in savings may have been made since its launch (from, for instance, a reduction in primary care costs and “avoided morbidity” among others).

A spokesperson at the CHE said that the study’s findings about the health and economic benefits of Bradford’s CAZ could be “substantial”.

Sarah Ferriby, executive member for healthy people and places at Bradford Council added: “By encouraging cleaner vehicles and reducing pollution, the CAZ is now proven to be protecting vulnerable residents, improving long-term health outcomes, and supporting a healthier, more sustainable Bradford for future generations.”

News of this comes on the back of a local democracy reporting service report from the BBC that Bradford Council has not done enough to “meet government imposed criteria” that would have allowed it to remove the CAZ.

It singled out the failure to retrofit buses to make them greener as the big contributor to the council being unable to “meet compliance requirements.

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CONSTITUENCY

Robbie Moore lambasts Bradford Council’s record

The MP for Keighley and Ilkley has lambasted the performance of the Labour-run Bradford Council, which has had a majority since 2014.

Robbie Moore was speaking in response to a snippet of comments made by Anna Dixon, the MP for Shipley, during the local government finance statement in the House of Commons on Wednesday 17 December.

The MP for Shipley remarked during the Q&A that followed that if residents in her constituency want to see improvements in local services, “they will need a Labour council working with a Labour government?”

That was only part of what she said. Prior to the above, she noted that “this government’s fair funding is finally turning a corner for councils like Bradford that have been at the sharp end of Tory cuts to local government”.

Dixon was referring to central government cuts to funding that were implemented by the former Conservative government, which the Local Government Association has said has resulted in a “27% real-terms cut in core spending power” since 2010.

In a short video posted to social media in response to the second part of Dixon’s comments, Moore said that “stuff like this is exactly why people are losing faith in politicians”, adding that if you “take all the politics out of all of this” and judge the leaderships’ performance over the years, there have been serious shortcomings and failures.

He noted: “Council leaders found to have left children at risk of harm, children’s services [had been] rated inadequate twice, its deputy director [of children’s social care was] jailed for possession of crystal meth, [there have been] repeated refusals to support a grooming gangs inquiry, council tax [has gone] up by 15% and [there has been] rampant financial mismanagement.”

The council has also overseen “the selling off of our town’s heritage assets, the closure of local tips” and a local referendum in Keighley and Ilkley respectively were ignored” with “Labour councilors themselves resigning because the council’s leadership is autocratic”, Moore added.

Bradford Council’s record under Labor has been an “economic, moral and political disaster,” the MP concluded, saying that the council doesn’t need more Labour but more accountability.

Moore’s claims that council tax has gone up by 15% is somewhat misleading although the council did actually want to go up as much as 14.99% in the current financial year).

Council has not gone up by 15% in any given year. Instead, he is referencing a 9.99% increase for 2025/26 and a 4.99% increase for 2026/27 (the split does appear on the video by way of illustrated headlines).

We asked Bradford Council for a response. We have yet to receive a response.

COUNTY

Independent review pushes back mass transit start date in West Yorkshire to late 2030s

The service start date for phase one of the mass transit system in West Yorkshire has been pushed back to the late 2030s, after an independent review of the combined authority’s plans judged the original date to be too ambitious.

A BBC report has suggested that the West Yorkshire Combined Authority has been told to “take a more thorough approach”, resulting in the original start date of the mid-2030s being scrapped

With the WYCA appearing to take no accountability for the delay, it said that it welcomed the new and revised plan, which now has a “robust, sequential timeline” in place.

“We are clear that mass transit will have a transformational impact on the region and the UK’s economy and I welcome the government’s commitment to ensuring the best possible outcome for the people of West Yorkshire,” mayor Tracy Brabin said.

“While the new timeline helps offer certainty for the scheme, I am also pleased that ministers have committed to working with us to cut red tape and put tracks on the ground as quickly as possible.”

It was only in June of this year that the government, as part of its announcement that it was making the “biggest ever investment in city region local transport”, stated that West Yorkshire would get £2.1 billion to get “spades in the ground” to start building the mass transit system by 2028. It also reiterated the original mid-2030s timeline.

Alan Lamb, the leader of the Conservative Group on Leeds City Council, said that he didn’t buy the narrative being spun by the WYCA.

He was quoted by West Leeds Dispatch as saying that had this happened in Manchester, the mayor there “wouldn’t be trying to make this sound positive”. The delay, he added, was a “disaster” for the region.

We asked the WYCA for clarity on why the mass transit system had been delayed – this isn’t clear from the announcement – why it hasn’t taken responsibility for the delay, why a link to or further information about to the review hasn’t been shared and why it is appears to be failing to deliver on transport more generally.

For example, news of this delay comes on the back of earlier reports that construction work on the White Rose Station, which began in March 2022, has stalled because of rising costs (it had an original budget of £26.5 million).

“It was an ambitious project and we wouldn’t necessarily do it in the same way again, so we’ve learned a lot,” Brabin told the BBC back in October. “We’re really working very hard to push to a resolution.” No updates have since been released.

WYCA retains ‘very good rating’ for active travel

The West Yorkshire Combined Authority (WYCA) has retained its level three status for its efforts to maintain and improve the ability to walk, cycle and wheel safely and effectively in the region.

The latest Active Travel England local authority active travel capability ratings recognised the combined authority’s strong commitment to improving active travel in the area, along with 11 other authorities who also achieved the second highest rating.

Level three authorities are described by Active Travel England as having “very strong local leadership and organisational capability”, with “comprehensive plans and a significant network in place” that is encouraging more people to opt for healthier and greener forms of travel.

The WYCA was one of six local authorities to hold onto their level three status, with five moving up from level two. Only one authority dropped from level two to level one – the Tees Valley Combined Authority, which is led by the Conservative mayor Ben Houchen. No authority has achieved a level four rating yet.

As a result of its high rating, the WYCA, will receive a bigger slice of the funding pot – £29 million over the next four years to be exact.

Responding to the news, West Yorkshire’s mayor, Tracy Brabin, said: “This new funding for active travel schemes is fantastic for the region and will help us build on our strong track record of delivering new and improved routes, making it safer to get around.

“This will form a key part of our Weaver Network as we seamlessly join up transport options across West Yorkshire to make a greener, better-connected region.”

NATIONAL

BBC launches royal charter review green paper and public consultation

The BBC has launched a review of its royal charter with the publication of a green paper and public consultation against a backdrop of massive technological change and a £10 billion lawsuit from the US president Donald Trump.

First established nearly a century ago in 1927 when the British Broadcasting Corporation was established – it was originally founded in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company – the charter review is a document that defines the mission, governance, funding and regulation of the BBC generally over the next 10 years.

Explaining some of the context for the latest review, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport noted just how different the media landscape is today compared to 2017 when the charter was last renewed.

More people now consume content – a catch-all word for video, audio, text and images – online, with traditional viewing habits, namely watching live TV, in rapid decline.

Brand and institutional loyalty has also decreased, with increasing numbers of people consuming content, such as news and entertainment, from a wider range of sources and platforms across the world with personality-led streamers one of the defining trends of 2025.

Another factor shaping the environment in which the charter is being reviewed are the ongoing challenges faced by the local news industry, which the BBC, in its own unique way, supports (such as its Local Democracy Reporting Service).

The consultation is made up of 32 questions split across four chapters: a trusted institution, delivering services for the public good, driving growth across the UK and sustainable and fair funding.

Some of the specific areas the BBC wants feedback on include whether the mission and purpose of the BBC should stay the same or change, how accountable the BBC is to the public, whether the BBC should share more of its content on third party platforms, how the BBC could fill the skills gap in the creative sector and whether “new concessions for households facing significant financial pressures should be introduced”.

The BBC has launched its review as it seeks to defend itself from a lawsuit filed in Florida by lawyers acting on behalf of Trump, which alleges the corporation defamed him by “intentionally, maliciously and deceptively” editing his 6 January 2021 speech that preceded the attack on the US Capitol.

In response, the BBC said: “As we have made clear previously, we will be defending this case. We are not going to make further comment on ongoing legal proceedings.”

You can read the green paper in full here and participate in the consultation here.

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