Recommendation 9

The potential of Bradford as an engine room of the Northern Powerhouse may be squandered if it is not given opportunities to thrive through better connectivity. Direct high speed connections would give the city access to a much broader pool of labour, as well as allowing other cities to benefit from the talent and potential of its own residents. Leaving such a large and dynamic city behind would undermine the project of levelling up the country. Better public transport is essential to encouraging modal shift, and the attendant decarbonisation gains would be significant across such a large population. The Government is making a circular argument by pointing to current patterns of public transport use as justification for decisions about future infrastructure. Services must be in place, consistently, for people to use them.