Bradford: Outdoor centre to close as part of budget cuts

At a meeting of Bradford City Council’s cabinet on 7 March, councillors passed proposals for local authority’s 2024/25 budget, which resulted in a variety of cuts, including slashing funding for libraries and leisure services and an increase in council tax.

Ingleborough Hall Outdoor Centre will be closed due to high maintenance costs, the council has said.

The centre offers activities designed to enhance outdoor and adventure education, including orienteering, river study and caving, as part of residential stays for children in primary and secondary schools. The building is also accessible for children with special educational needs and disabilities.

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The closure of the centre will save £200,000, according to the council's budget proposals.

Shipley and Keighley youth services teams will also be combined to create a revenue saving of £50,000 in 2024/25, rising to £100,000 in 2025/26, as part of budget plans.

The cuts are linked to high levels of spending on children’s services placing high pressure on the Labour-run council’s budget, a report submitted to the cabinet reveals.

It states that children’s social care spending for 2024/25 is “projected to consume an unprecedented proportion of the council’s spending (almost half)”.

Overall gross expenditure on children’s social care is likely to exceed £250 million in the current financial year, which the councils says exceeds the £233 million raised in council tax.

Following the budget, council tax in the city is set to rise by 4.99%.

Spending on home to school transport for children with complex needs and children’s social care transport is also predicted to result in an overspend of more than £1 million.

In 2023/24, around £48 million of one-off reserves was used to help balance the budget and pay for children’s social care and other pressures.

The report states that £42.1 million will be invested in children’s social care services, which were taken over by Bradford Children and Families Trust in April last year.

However it highlights that: “In addition to the budget reductions outlined above, children’s services are also undertaking a number of mitigating actions to address existing pressures previously outlined. These will not result in budget reductions but would stop overspends recurring and reduce future pressures on adult social care.”

Last week, a report by the The Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy found that the relationship between Bradford Council and the trust is at risk of “breaking down”.

Leader of Bradford Council councillor Susan Hinchcliffe, said: “Labour councillors voted to approve the budget last night with a heavy heart. 

“It includes cuts we would prefer not to make but we know we have to in order to safeguard the council’s future.  That future includes continuing to fund the core vital services of children’s social care and adult social care whilst reducing the other services we currently provide considerably.  It’s a challenge that every council in the country faces at the moment.”

The council says it is working on a multi-year plan to sustain the budget, which will involve service transformation in council services and the Bradford Children and Families Trust.