Post on Bradford4Better Facebook group

Bradford4Better has postcode 'chapters' across the city and links with many other grassroots organisations. Contact B4B via their website or Facebook or Dr Sohail Abraham Ahmed (GP from Bradford, surgery in Halifax) who is a core member of B4B.

Include Clean Air Bradford & Bradford Cycling Campaign

Air Pollution & transport noise are the top two environmental risk factors to public health in Europe. Over-reliance on the motor car contributes to inactivity & obesity. Various people working in health are in BCC. We are contactable via Facebook & Twitter, or Dave Robison at Capital of Cycling.

Look to team up/align outreach and engagement activities with other issue groups in the district, such as the Bradford Environment Forum.

Most sustainable solutions that are good for the planets are also, not so surprisingly, good for our health too. Bradford Environment Forum (BEF) are seeking to engage more Bradfordians with the sustainability agenda and tackling the climate emergency. Perhaps their are some strong and lasting synergies to be struck up. Contact carlton@Bradfordtrident.co.uk (BEF chair) to explore further.....

Use the Community Partnership VCS representatives to map their population of VCS groups in their areas, build a network of networks.

Build a network of networks, build, add to and support the current community structures

Team up with like minded organisations. Such as Bradford Play Partnership and Child in the City if wanting to reach out to and engage youth.

Kate Lightstead <kate.lightstead> leds the Child in the City programme and Janet Jewitt <janet> heads up the Bradford Play Partnership.</janet></kate.lightstead>

Being specific and simple

VCS are inundated with information from various places, the information that is shared needs to use clear language - keeping messaging simple and specific.

Go old school: face-to-face, even if it takes longer

I appreciate that it's partly the pandemic, but this trend towards online consultations and standalone websites has worked poorly for inner city Bradford. Bradford Council has had multiple attempts. Recent failures include the Barkerend Active Travel Neighbourhood consultation (Saltaire was a success due to a local group doorknocking), the Bradford city centre Transforming Cities consultations (they spoke with zero city centre residents). Maybe it's too impersonal or not interactive, maybe that many only have a smartphone for apps & social media or no internet access at all, maybe that the websites are linked to from too few other places so not often found.

OK Im thinking... Hmmmm

Recognise Bradford city centre residents as a hard-to-reach/ seldom-heard group

The population has different demographics, housing & social structure than any other area. We are mostly working (childbearing) age adults, very few families. A real mix of ethnicities but, unusually, not British Pakistani. Over time more & more people with social problems have moved here. Many thousands of people live here in high-rise flats and, increasingly, bedsits or 'pods' ( rooms). Many don't have broadband, either digitally excluded or just a smartphone or tablet. There has never been any Neighbourhood Forums. A residents association was incredibly hard to set up & folded. A Little Germany group folded too. I don't think there are any grassroots orgs now. My health has been severely impacted from 15 years living here: from very fit & healthy to very unfit & unhealthy. Eg. developed adult asthma from the high diesel pollution, chronic vitamin D3 insufficiency from being stuck indoors. We are the only 'neighbourhood' in the district with no green space, in lockdown 1 the city centre was often a ghost town, nobody went outdoors for exercise. We had zero health promotion throughout the pandemic, eg. when door-to-door testing was done it was in the street on passers-by. City centre residents are not properly recognised as suffering health inequalities because there are few elderly people & few babies & children. So the markers don't fit. The one positive for our health is Bevan House GP surgery which is very good.

Connect with the BMDC Neighbourhood Wardens & Ward Officers

The ones I have spoken with are switched-on about their patches, and have links with grassroots organisations. Some were around when Neighbourhood Forums used to run so will remember what worked. They are contactable via the five area coordinators offices (e-mail on the BMDC website).

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