Bradford needs a new rail hub, University's DVC tells Chancellor Rishi Sunak

Prof Irani, also presented the Chancellor with a copy of the Bradford Economic Recovery Plan (2021-2026), of which he is the chief architect.

He travelled to Westminster to meet the Chancellor with members of Bradford Breakthrough, which represents businesses and organisations across the district, along with the district’s five MPs, three Bradford peers and the President of Bradford Chamber of Commerce, met the Chancellor at the House of Commons to argue that dropping the proposed station was a “huge mistake” that could cost the district up to £30 billion in growth and investment and 27,000 extra jobs by 2060.

During the meeting, the Chancellor committed to “looking in detail at the report from the Select Committee” reviewing the Government’s Integrated Rail Plan (IRP) which visited Bradford in February and he invited the delegation to set up a follow-up meeting with Transport Secretary Grant Shapps.

Commenting on the meeting, he said the Chancellor was “very supportive of the Bradford district and recognised the work being done in the region, and our recent successes with Bradford 2025.”

In his speech, Prof Zahir Irani outlined the economic case for a new Bradford rail hub, arguing it would unlock the potential of the district by increasing social mobility and creating jobs.

He said: “The University is very proud to have been ranked first in the Social Mobility Index rankings for two years in a row - 2021 and 2022 - We change lives, and equip the districts young and diverse population with the skills and confidence they need to succeed.

“However, to continue to innovate and maintain being a destination of choice, we need to attract and retain talented and versatile staff, and students. Increasingly, we develop this talent, to then see it leave our district.

“As a civic and anchor organisation, we will struggle to realise our growth ambitions and expand our circle-of-influence, if we don’t have a compelling offer that attract those in search of highly skilled employment, new skills or simply upskilling themselves to support businesses that then drive innovation, or simply to attract entrepreneurs seeking a creative environment.

“A new Bradford city-centre hub station will renew pride and, support much needed regeneration, and also support a commitment to clean growth, wellbeing and improve the visitor experience as you enter Bradford by rail.

“Collectively acting as a catalyst for Social, Economic and Cultural growth and valued added. A new station will facilitate our transition to a sustainable resilience connected Economy.”

Professor Zahir Irani presented the Chancellor with a copy of the Bradford Economic Recovery Plan (2021-2016).

Read his speech in full below.

Picture below: members of Bradford Breakthrough, who travelled to meet Chancellor the Rt Hon Rishi Sunak MP in London on Wednesday June 29.

“Collectively acting as a catalyst for Social, Economic and Cultural growth and valued added. A new station will facilitate our transition to a sustainable resilient connected Economy.”

Read his speech in full below.

Meeting with The Rt Hon Rishi Sunak MP

June 29, 2022

Bradford is a friendly, vibrant, creative place. There is an abundance of art, music, theatre and, wonderful public spaces, all of which are nestled amongst some of the most stunning and dramatic scenery in the UK.

However, our district often remains overlooked and underestimated by so many across the country and, in Government.

So, Thank-You Chancellor, for agreeing to hear our collective voice on the case for a New City-Centre Hub Station, in Bradford.

I am the Deputy Vice-Chancellor at the University-of and for-Bradford and an active Breakthrough member. I was also the Chair of the Bradford Economic Recovery Board that produced the 2021-2026 Economic Recovery Plan for the Bradford District; I’ll be pleased to present a copy to you later this evening.

The University is one of those large employers mentioned earlier, employing over 1,500 full-time academic, professional, and technical staff, and a further 400 casual staff. We also educate 12,000 full-time students and have a strong ambition to grow our home and international student numbers even further.

This growth will allow us to deliver more impact through our innovative Research and Knowledge Transfer and approach to Social Mobility, whilst also improving the Health and Educational outcomes of many citizens, across many disadvantaged communities in West Yorkshire.

The University and District Council position great value on the Importance of ‘Place’.

Bradford as a ‘Place’ is known for its proud heritage, rich culture, and innovation.

Specifically at the University of Bradford, we were the First-in-the-World to develop a Peace Studies Department, whilst others focused on maintaining their War Studies offer.

The Bradford School of Management is one of the oldest Business Schools in the Country, and launched its MBA in 1974, followed by at the time, a radical approach to Management Development, when it launched a Distance Learning MBA in 1998 - which features in the top-10, Financial Times annual rankings.

The School of Management is amongst 110 Business Schools World-Wide to have the converted Triple Crown and draws students from every corner of the world. It is also the 2021/22 THE Business School of the Year.

The University is very proud to have been ranked First in the Social Mobility Index rankings for two years in a row - 2021 and 2022 - We change lives, and equip the districts young and diverse population with the skills and confidence they need to succeed.

However, to continue to innovate and maintain being a destination of choice, we need to attract and retain talented and versatile staff, and students.

Increasingly, we develop this talent, to then see it leave our district.

As a Civic and Anchor organisation, we will struggle to realise our growth ambitions and expand our circle-of-influence, if we don’t have a compelling offer that attract those in search of highly skilled employment, new skills or simply upskilling themselves to support businesses that then drive innovation, or simply to attract entrepreneurs seeking a creative environment.

A new Bradford City-Centre Hub Station will renew pride and, support much needed regeneration, and also support a commitment to Clean Growth, Wellbeing and improve the Visitor Experience as you enter Bradford by rail.

Collectively acting as a catalyst for Social, Economic and Cultural growth and valued added.

A new station will facilitate our transition to a sustainable resilient connected Economy.

The Bradford district does have many successes to build on, such as being ranked by the Barclays Growth Index as the best place to start a new business (2017), and again in 2021 and, was featured in The Sunday Times (in Feb 2020) as one of the top UK cities for growth.

We are ambitious folk - and want you to share this ambition with us.

I want to leave you with a clear message, The job of Levelling-up Bradford is Not-Yet-Done.

We want to respectively ask Government to re-draw those strong connections between a new City Centre Hub Station and its role in unlocking a mega-regeneration project that will create a modern European city that can: attract and retain talent, boost productivity, increase employment, and leverage the districts diverse cultural assets, whilst continuing to build a more inclusive, sustainable, and resilient economy that allows all our communities to thrive.

Thank you, Chancellor.

ends