REGEN 2000

Delivered by the Bradford Chamber of Commerce & Industry at the business.shop, the aims of this project are to provide high quality, assured, business advice, support and information to existing and new businesses within Regen 2000 and Newlands area.

Also, through a targeted programme of grant support, to enable businesses, to start up or relocate to the area, to expand, improve their production and other facilities, create a better working environment for employees, and, through improved business competitiveness and profitability, create new jobs.

The project will contribute to the economic regeneration of the areas by promoting prosperity, good business practise, and an improved image to the outside world. And by maximising the contribution of additional funding streams to the economic outputs of the programmes.

The strategic aims of the project are to:

1) Ensure the residents have access to jobs
2) Enable the sustainable reduction of persistant high unemployment within the Regen 2000 area
3) Provide support in raising attainment and confidence levels and re-engaging unemployed, especially young people in training and education
4) Work with employers (local, district, national and international) and potential employees to remove barriers and create a positive image
5) Establish a fully-equipped employment resource and training centre with IT facilities
6) Establish satellite offices in the community hubs (community centres, schools, churches, mosques, shopping malls, sport centres, etc) to provide advice and guidance
7) Develop a non-profit recruitment service to fund future activity and work towards the project becoming established as a community enterprise

The project involves a major job creation programme, providing large-scale capital improvement to commercial and residential property in 40 acres of land covering Little Germany and the adjacent Catherdral Quarter area.

The aim is to transform it into a flagship area of international quality to attract top quality businesses to the local area and Bradford as a whole, including the introduction of cafes, arts, culture and leisure facilities. The development will help people in Regen 2000 area to gain access to jobs and training opportunities both during, and after the project‘s completion.

The aims of the project are to raise the image and quality of the Leeds Road public realm to a level of which local people and the district as a whole can be proud, and to assist in the economic regeneration by making the area more attractive to visitors.

Mini projects within this project include: landscaping, tree planting, seating, decorative painting in front of shops, new shop fronts and more car parking.

The Connecting the City project aims to implement infrastructure and environmental works, which will be a catalyst for the wider re-development of the city centre through stimulating private investment in Little Germany, the Catherdral Quarter and the Broadway city centre development. It will also contribute to the delivery of the Regen 2000 programme by facilitating achievement of the economic objectives of the programme and linking to the Employment Agency initiative.

The objective of the project is to create a cleared site for the redeveloment as a new retail centre incorporating also a mix of office and residential uses. This will involve the demolition of buildings, the realignment of roads, moving of underground services (water, sewerage, electricity etc) to positions under the new highway.

This work will lead to the creation of a number of construction job opportunities through the R2k Community Employment. The project will enable the creation of a retail and commercial centre, which will provide substantial new jobs, all of which will be availible to Regen 2000 residents.

The Customer-Focused Contact Centre project aims to establish a 480 seat contact centre delivering electronic services by telephone for customers of the Inland Revenue and the City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council. Additional aims include:

1) Provide training and work placements for 266 new and 100 safe guarded jobs.
2) Adopt flexible working patterns suitable for families and working parents
3) Improve the residents of the Regen 2000 area access to services, including support into training, employment,benifits and tax credits
4) Increase services and support take-up by the residents of the Regen 2000 area
5) Provide new employment opportunities in the Contact Centre

The aims of the project are to:
1) Improve existing areas of public open space and roadside landscaping
2) Provide new and improved sport and play facilities for residents
3) Provide training and jobs for the people of the Regen 2000 area
4) Improve the image and perception of the area to visitors

The following sites are also included within the Open Spaces project:
1) Attock Park
2) Bradford Moor Park
3) Beech Grove
4) Myra Shay
5) Upper Seymour Street Recreation Ground

Based at the Karmand Community Centre on Barkerend Road, the project provides a wide range of support to young people over the age of eight in the BD3 area.

A team of four youth workers is based at the centre, which puts on educational classes at the weekends and evening for youth‘s featuring sports and recreational activities, trips, outings and support.

The aim is to promote young people‘s personal and social development with anti-crime initiatives, training and workshops.

WomenZone is a new and innovative facility. Its key aim is to provide a range of actions and interventions for the disadvantaged women in the BD3 area in order to significantly improve their educational and employment prospects and enhance their physical, social and emotional wellfare and well-being.

Over the past few years WomenZone has gone from strength to strength. We now have a building of which the community can feel proud. The aim now is to iron out the areas that need to develop and take WomenZone to new heights.

The project was launched to reduce fires in the Bradford Districts‘s worst arson blackspot and offer fire prevention advice to homeowners.

More than 90% of the 400 fires in the Barkerend and Leeds Road area of Bradford were caused delibrately during 2002 and the project aims to raise awareness of the risks to health and safety.

The scheme seeks to build up relationships with teachers, pupils and youths as part of a major fire reduction programme. Businesses will also be advised on how to avoid becoming victims of arson and there will be visits to families in the area.

West Yorkshire fire fighter, Steve Fealey, is a station officer at Bradford‘s Nelson Street Fire Station, he will be spearheading the campaign.

This project is to be delivered by Surestart Barkerend. It aims to:

1) Provide childcare alongside a range of first rung, personal developments and vocational training programmes for parents
2) Integrate childcare with other forms of learner support e.g. ESOL and basic skills support, Information, Advice and Guidance (IAG) and peer tutorial support
3) Develop the lifelong learning potential of young children through childcare provision that blends care and education in order to stimulate intellectual development at the same time as fostering a positive personal attitude towards learning
4) Foster a culture of family learning activities wherein parent and child can learn together

The cash injection from Regen 2000 will help Surestart Barkerend to take on more childcare workers.

The aim of the Community Fund is to work with groups to develop projects that are needed by the local community, thereby supporting and encouraging active community involvement and participation in Community Fund projects. It supports a diverse range of projects ranging from community capacity and cohesion to music and arts.

In order for projects to apply for funding, they must meet the Community Fund remit and a number of eligibility criteria. Project applications are assessed and decisions of an award are made by the Learning and Skills Theme Group.

The Skills Academy will educate people between 14 and 19 in plumbing, electricity courses, motor trades, hairdressing and childcare. Other subjects will be taught in the future to meet the demands and changes to the curriculum. It is expected to be opened by the end of the year and will provide:

1) A learning campus that is a role model for other specialist colleges in the region
2) Increased education oportunities for both school pupils and adult learners
3) A centre for vocational skills training focused on motor and building trades
4) New routes to employment for local residents and improving prosperity in the Regen 2000 area
5) Raise education and achievement in the Laisterdyke and surrounding area.

Through the project 100 litterbins were purchaced and installed down Leeds road and Barkerend Road. The project continues to repair and refurbish these receptacles. The key objective of the project is to improve the visible environment by providing additional litterbins. This should increase the opportunity for the residents to dispose of their litter in an appropriate manner.

The project acquired, through contract hire, a compact sweeper, which operates a daily sweep of Leeds Road, Barkerend Road and Killinghall Road. All other areas are swept at a rate of approximately once a week.