Following a campaign by Imran and local councillors, Cllr Mohammed Shafiq and Cllr Zafar Iqbal for Bradford Council to put much greater investment into Bradford Moor Park, Bradford Council today announced that it will meet Imran’s demands to restore the park to its former glory.

In his calls to Bradford Council, Imran has repeatedly highlighted that the neighbourhoods which are served by Bradford Moor Park are amongst some of the District’s most disadvantaged, but that parks and green spaces can make a noticeable difference to the health and the quality of life of these communities despite their high levels of deprivation.

However, he has further stated that due to the limited number of children’s play and sports facilities in the park, along with the park’s lake which is its key attraction being in dire need of repair and cleaning, people are deterred from making use of the park, leaving its full potential unfulfilled.

Over recent weeks, Imran has been calling on Bradford Council to allocate a sufficient portion of its parks budget to Bradford Moor Park to improve the park’s facilities and clean its lake.  These demands were met today by Bradford Council who announced that they would set aside additional funding for Bradford Moor Park and that plans for the park’s future development would be drawn up in consultation with Mr Hussain and the Friends of Bradford Moor Park.

Speaking on the urgent need to refurbish Bradford Moor Park, Imran said:

“Bradford Moor Park is surrounded by some of the most deprived and disadvantaged neighbourhoods in my constituency who have limited access to recreational spaces and facilities, which makes the role that is played by the park in boosting health outcomes and quality of life even more important.

“Yet despite its importance to the local community, Bradford Moor Park has sadly fallen into disrepair after years of neglect, with limited and damaged play equipment and a lake that was once the park’s key attraction becoming dirty and disused, and I’ve been pushing Bradford Council to step in and make the investment needed to ensure the park does not become unusable.

“I’m therefore grateful to see that Bradford Council has now listened to my calls for increased investment in all of our parks and green spaces, but for particular attention to be given to Bradford Moor Park to clean and repair the lake and to improve the number of children’s play and sports facilities available for use.”

“I also want to thank the Friends of Bradford Moor Park for the fantastic work that they have done to help maintain the Park and keep this campaign alive. The role that they have played in securing this commitment from Bradford Council cannot be underplayed and it just shows how powerful local, grassroots organisations can be.”

Speaking on Bradford Council’s investment in Bradford Moor Park, Cllr Susan Hinchcliffe, Leader of Bradford Council said:

“I first want to thank everyone who has been involved in this campaign, including Imran Hussain MP, local councillors, the Friends of Bradford Moor Park, and all those local residents who turned out to help support the park in community clean-ups and other activities.

“Bradford Moor Park is such a key part of the local community and is such an important asset, so it is vital that we support it. That’s why the Council has agreed to invest in the park and will be working on a plan with residents.  Over the coming weeks we will be drawing up plans in consultation with the local residents to set out the park’s future.”

Speaking on Imran ’s campaign for investment in Bradford Moor Park, Naz Kosar, Chair of the Friends of Bradford Moor Park, said:

“We’ve long been campaigning to restore Bradford Moor Park, and we thank Imran and Bradford Council for all of the work that they have done in getting this agreement to start to make this campaign a reality.

“There is an urgent need to bring Bradford Moor Park back to its former glory to benefit those who are the most disadvantaged in our neighbourhoods and to provide a real asset all our communities can enjoy, and I look forward to working in partnership with Bradford Council to build a park that builds integration in our communities.