Bradford businesses are appealing for help amid roadworks chaos

A business leader is urging Bradford officials to fulfill their “moral obligation” to do more to help traders affected by roadworks chaos in the city centre.

Many traders told the BBC they had seen their incomes fall in the past few months amid non-stop regeneration and motorway works to transform the city center ahead of UK City of Culture Bradford 2025.

Bradford Council said it could not offer grants or compensation to traders but offered extra support to businesses, including expert advice.

Mark Cowgill, chairman of West and North Yorkshire Chambers of Commerce, said more should be done to ease the “challenging” and “sensitive” period for smaller businesses.

The roadworks, overseen by the West Yorkshire Combined Authority, are spread across key parts of the city centre, including Bank Street, Broadway, Market Street, Hall Ings and parts of Bridge Street and Little Horton Lane, which have all been closed to traffic.

Mr Cowgill told the BBC that businesses had been campaigning for improvements to the town center for a long time and while the changes were welcome, the frustrations of smaller traders needed to be addressed.

“It has been really difficult and will continue to be difficult in the coming months,” he said.

“We’ve all been crying out for this upgrade in the city for over 20 years and we’ve seen it happen incrementally with places like Leeds and Manchester – which have had major city center transformations.

“But in Bradford we have all of this at once and personally I would have preferred it to have happened gradually over the last 10 years? Yes, absolutely, because we would also have now been in a position where we would have had a modern center fit for purpose.

“It would have been fantastic, but we don’t have that. What we had is this opportunity from a very, very large, very substantial investment fund to transform the city.

“You have to accept that even if there is no legal requirement, there is a moral obligation to try and help the businesses that you want to be there beyond the works and that provide essential services in the area.

“I know they’ve done things like lowering business rates, but clearly that’s not enough in some cases.”

Councilor Alex Ross-Shaw, Bradford Council’s executive member for regeneration, planning and transport, said that while cash grants were not available for town center traders, other business support was provided by the council alongside the West Yorkshire Combined Authority “may be useful”.

This includes a specialized support program for businesses under three years old and individual help for more established firms.

“Businesses can also apply for a review of their business rates if they believe this will benefit them,” he said.

Mr Ross-Shaw added that the £43m works in the town center would be “better for business in the long term” and in places such as Market Street, traders themselves have led a campaign to pedestrianize the area to increase finally the circulation.

He said builders were working “as quickly as they can” to complete, and the main work would be completed this winter, with planting and minor works on public land underway by spring 2025.