Dear residents,
As you will see in the town council monthly mailing and recent press release, the council agreed at a full council meeting on Tuesday 23rd June 2020 to go ahead with a long-planned project to repaint all the street furniture in the centre of Bingley, which was first suggested in 2016.
One of the reasons why the creation of Bingley Town Council was campaigned for and eventually formed was a strong feeling among residents that Bingley was largely ignored and neglected by Bradford Metropolitan District Council, with no vision for the development of the town or investment in it.
The aim of Bingley Town Council has always been to improve the town centre to make it a vibrant, welcoming place which supports and encourages small businesses, is a hospitable destination for visitors and provides a safe place for all residents to live.
To this end, the council have worked in many areas including, but not all:
- Working with the Canal and Rivers Trust to improve signage and access to Five Rise Locks,
- the introduction of the monthly Saturday market,
- the development of a Neighbourhood Plan,
- attention to dilapidated buildings,
- investment and support for the Friends of Bingley Pool,
- support in the form of grants for local groups and village societies,
- financial support for the Chamber of Trade Big Lights Switch On and Christmas Fair,
- regular litter picks,
- the installation of planters, hanging baskets and floral displays throughout Bingley.
The recent survey of priorities from 2019, which is only one page of a larger document, publicised on local Facebook pages, includes 18 items, of which all but one – the formation of a youth council – have been completed or are ongoing.
The repainting of all the street furniture, which includes; all the lamp posts, planters and benches in the centre of Bingley, is one item of those priorities. Bradford Metropolitan District Council have made it clear that there are no funds or intention to invest in improving Bingley town centre, yet the project has been hampered by the obstacles created by Bradford Metropolitan District Council throughout the process, which has caused the rise in costs. Bingley Town Council are obliged to use the contractor specified by Bradford Metropolitan District Council, which has its own tendering process.
Investment in the town is essential, it does not preclude investing in Bingley Pool, Myrtle Park or any other projects for which all groups are encouraged to apply for funding. To date, the Friends of Bingley Pool have made no request for funds after an initial grant to fund a feasibility study. Two Bingley Town Councillors are trustees of the Friends of Bingley Pool and the council are ready to support the Pool project through the CAT process and beyond.  Money has been ring-fenced to fund the installation of a Changing Places facility in the pool building. Similar facilities in other local sports and pool facilities have all been funded by Bradford Metropolitan District Council.
The most recent grants provided by Bingley Town Council have been to Myrtle Park Bowling Club for renovations to their toilet facilities and to the Down Syndrome Training and Support Centre for a refurbishment project, showing that a project can be large or small, but if it benefits residents it will be looked on favourably.
Bingley Town Council has a robust communications policy which is available on the website. Individual councillors who express a view on social media speak as individual councillors and do not express the views of the full council, which acts democratically and is bound by legislation on how it must operate. All Bingley Town Councillors are volunteers and are unpaid.
All formal council meetings are open to the public and have a section for public participation. The format of meetings is again regulated by law. Currently all meetings are held by Zoom and any resident is welcome to attend. Details are provided by contacting enquiries@bingleytowncouncil.gov.uk Agenda and minutes of all meetings are available on the website.
This statement is issued in response to recent posts and questions on local Facebook community pages. Individual questions and concerns should be addressed to the town clerk, as above, rather than to individual councillors.
Yours sincerely
Helen Owen
Chair, Bingley Town Council
It seems very disappointing that the local council is still not listening to the comments with regard to the re-painting of the street furniture. I think if you actually did listen and read the comments people are upset and angry that this decision was not put on hold. The country and town are in a pandemic and people feel that the council should have looked ti see if this money could have been spent in ways to help people in the community who might be struggling or coming up with ways to support the numerous local businesses that have suffered massively during lockdown – what is the point of having “smart” looking street lamps if there are no businesses left to attract people to the town??? I for one am very disappointed with the councils short sightedness on this matter
Thank you for this response Helen.
I’m sure that many will be surprised and concerned that BDMC can be obstructive when the local Town Council are working so hard to improve the Bingley area and then can dictate who the Town Council have to pay to carry out the work!
It would be interesting to see what The Office of Fair Trading would make of the way that BDMC is still operating, despite numerous Tendering scandals throughout the 2000’s ( as detailed via a Google search).
Jacqueline I think Helen is on about the short sightedness of Bingley Council not Bradford. The cost if painting the street lamps is eye watering and in my opinion not needed at this time. This needs to be put on hold and the 10’s of thousands of pounds be put to better use.
I completely respect residents concerns over the costs of painting the street furniture, especially in these unprecedented and uncertain times. I would encourage anyone to see this project as a leap forward in the redevelopment of the town centre and a move to smarten up the appearance and aesthetic of the conservation areas. Similar schemes have worked very well in Ilkley, Guiseley, Otley, Baildon and Saltaire, which in turn catalyses business owners in the various towns to address their own street presence and follow suit. Therefore making a much more pleasant environment in which to shop, dine and invest more time in which to dwell. The efforts all round in Bingley are already having a huge visual impact and gradually, there will be a palpable difference in footfall which can only be a positive. If the £28k of the painting costs had been distributed around businesses in the town then, the amount that individuals would have received (and for what cause) would have been negligible. This scheme invests forward into the future, a small step but giant leap into improvement to what had become quite a scruffy and unkempt town centre.