Transforming Bradford with Balfour Beatty
Sector: Local Authorities
Framework: SCAPE Civil Engineering framework
Client: City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council
Location: Bradford, UK
Combined Project Value: £55 million
“Delivering long-lasting social benefits for Bradford has been really important across these projects. We’ve provided so many opportunities for young, local people. Engaging in the community is also really important – to date, we have delivered over 429 hours of volunteering, and we’ve also supported local community and environmental organisations with over £8,000 worth of materials and in-kind donations. To date, we have spent over £11 million locally within 20 miles of these projects. We have also spent over £14 million with small and medium enterprises.”
Rachael Davies
Social Impact Manager, Balfour Beatty
Three projects delivered as one helped transform the city of Bradford, helping people to enjoy and get around the city easier by walking, cycling or using public transport.
As part of the City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council’s aspirations to be recognised as the UK’s leading clean growth district, upgrades were planned to improve the city’s transport network and enhance the look and feel of the city centre.
To help deliver local and national carbon reduction commitments and prepare to be the UK’s City of Culture 2025, the Council appointed Balfour Beatty through the SCAPE Civil Engineering framework to deliver a programme of works. This involved three projects funded via the West Yorkshire Combined Authority’s Transforming Cities Fund.
The programme was made up of three projects delivered as one:
1. City Centre Walking and Cycling Improvements Scheme
This project involved designing and creating new pedestrian spaces across large areas of the city centre and major roads. New green spaces and sustainable urban drainage systems were built to manage rainwater, prevent flooding, mitigate against extreme weather caused by the impacts of climate change, and improve biodiversity.
2. West Bradford Cycle Superhighway Extension
This project involved designing and building a dedicated, segregated cycle route between Bradford city centre and Thornton village that will better connect Bradford Royal Infirmary and Queensbury. The route incorporates several green spaces to improve the environment.
3. South Bradford Targeted Bus Measures
This project involved carrying out targeted bus priority measures along the A641 to reduce travel times, improve reliability and enhance the operation of the guided bus way. As well as helping to ease congestion and improve air quality, this will create a more accessible and safer city for pedestrians and cyclists alongside promoting better physical and mental wellbeing.
At times during the programme, there was a need to pivot to deliver the projects in different ways than originally envisaged, but through collaboration and teamwork between the Council and Balfour Beatty, the project was delivered under the demanding timescales necessitated by the City of Culture plans.
To ensure that the projects left a positive legacy and a sustainable impact for the city, Balfour Beatty’s social impact team developed a bespoke social impact plan, mapped against agreed ‘Themes Outcomes and Measures’ (TOMs), to effectively measure and report on social value performance. This included:
- School engagement hours
- Apprenticeship weeks
- Mentoring to unemployed groups
- Work experience weeks (including T-levels)
- Community volunteering hours
- Savings in carbon emissions
- Environmental volunteering hours
The TOMs were met through a range of initiatives, including:
- Working with Skills House Bradford to ensure that people living within the city can access career opportunities available across all four projects
- Offering a range of work experience and apprenticeship opportunities to inspire and promote careers in construction
- Upskilling students and lecturers at Bradford College on the latest innovation, digital tools and software
- Attending STEMFest Yorkshire and Humber to promote careers in construction to 3,000 year 7, year 8 and year 9 secondary school pupils
- Working with Participate to support a range of volunteering opportunities with individuals, charities and social enterprises across the city
To support the Council’s goals to create a cleaner and more sustainable city, Balfour Beatty focused on reducing construction waste and carbon emissions. For example:
- Reusing existing paving throughout the city
- Recycling demolition waste into useable aggregates
- Using zero and low emission vehicles and plant
- Using low temperature asphalt that embodies 20% less carbon than traditional asphalt
- Utilising EcoSense cabins and EcoNet technology
Why SCAPE?
Early contractor engagement facilitated by the SCAPE Civil Engineering framework was pivotal to establish a shared understanding of the needs of each project in the programme.
This meant that the Council, Balfour Beatty and design partners worked as one team right from implementation, co-developing solutions and applying best practice so that each of the complex projects were constructed safely and efficiently.
429
hours of volunteering
£14m
spent with SMEs
£11m
spent within 20 miles of the projects
£9m+
in social value
In collaboration with:
Meet the lead:
Zoe Anastasi
Framework Manager | Civil Engineering
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With over 114 years’ experience, Balfour Beatty delivers highly complex infrastructure schemes through to projects right at the heart of local communities.