Dr Manoj Joshi DL is the new Chair of the Bradford District Economic Partnership.

Dr Joshi will be championing the economic potential of the district, leading on clean growth, and working with partners to develop a new economic strategy.  He brings extensive experience across a broad range of leadership roles and has been the Board Director of Bradford Breakthrough. He has held many high-profile local roles in the civic affairs, business, faith and charity sectors. These followed a 27-year career in pharmaceuticals and health care, including as a Business Development Manager for AstraZeneca.

Why has Bradford decided to make clean growth the key part of its social, environmental and economic strategy?

More than a decade since the financial crash, and as we continue to navigate living with Covid, we need to reset and accelerate investment and delivery in a sustainable and inclusive way. We are taking this on as the UK’s leading clean growth location and test bed, and as the primary levelling-up investment area. For our district, this means that the next five years provide a real opportunity to accelerate our economy for the good of all.

Members and partners across the district are championing and prioritising clean growth in order to drive a flourishing and vibrant economy – one that works for everyone and in turn helps create a better environment for all.

Delivering on this will go beyond decarbonisation and enable Bradford to help lead the way as a testbed for clean growth, supporting the country’s wider economic transition to unleash the full power of our local people, places and businesses and create a more sustainable and inclusive economy.

Rooted in our people, families and communities, this work will guide Bradford’s  direction of travel over the next decade as we enable and support investment and delivery at pace and scale.

It will play an integral role in making the economic case for the district, its businesses and assets to be highly investable, with a goal of unlocking £50bn of growth over the next 10 years and supporting the levelling-up agenda.

Bradford Council is the democratic community leader for the Bradford district. It is tasked with ensuring the social, economic and environmental wellbeing of its present and future generations; with this in mind, the new council plan and our high-level partnership district plan commit to and endorse sustainable development. 

What does clean growth mean to you? How will you measure your success?

Clean growth means creating a viable, resilient and flourishing economy, where we can grow jobs, promote opportunities, support business success and in turn make a direct impact on people’s life chances, health and prospects. To ensure we deliver on this, we are working with WSP to create the first clean growth framework and implementation plan, which will ensure that our enviro-economic approach keeps us on track to transition to a more dynamic, productive and clean economy. The vision for this is a socially-inclusive economy that unlocks the potential of  our workforce and especially our young people to thrive in fair, well-paid work in the months and years ahead.

Can you give us an idea of how clean growth is already shaping developments in Bradford?

Clean growth is fundamentally helping us pull together a stronger case for investment, for infrastructure and for partnering across sectors to enable businesses, people and places to thrive.

From council-led investment in public realm and better connectivity, through to commercial developments like Esholt, One City Park and more, we are shaping a multi-billion-pound portfolio to ensure Bradford district plays its full part in the Northern Powerhouse and delivers on the opportunity to level-up.

We are working in partnership with the Mayor of West Yorkshire and our neighbouring councils to secure the regeneration, infrastructure, public transport and rail connectivity necessary for long-term success. The development of the Mass Transit system – into Bradford district, with our share of the £850m secured for West Yorkshire, will unlock so much opportunity to connect people, places and businesses.

Which sites and projects are you particularly excited about at the moment? What are the big opportunities for investors?

Esholt is a stand-out clean growth test bed for us. With Yorkshire Water and Keyland already having secured planning permission for the site close to Apperley Bridge Station, the development will provide an opportunity for world-class sustainable homes and one of the biggest employment sites for the circular economy and sustainable development.

For the council, clean growth investment is also exemplified by the Darley Street Market, for which construction is already underway, but at the largest and most high-profile scale we are now gearing up to deliver a Southern Gateway Masterplan, which will enable and unlock the biggest development opportunity in the UK.

Meanwhile, it is great to see so many companies across the district invest and shape their operations with clean growth at heart –Texfelt, Produmax, Solensis and The Friendly Chemical Company to name but a few – and embrace the commercial benefits of moving beyond net zero and supporting our high-growth economy.

For investors, we have key sites in the city centre, across the district in Shipley, Bingley and Keighley, and critically the Southern Gateway that deliver sustainable development and secure long-lasting return on investment.

How is Bradford incorporating clean growth into its bid to become UK City of Culture for 2025?

Sustainability is a central theme and integral factor in the requirements for the City of Culture bidding process, and so Bradford’s bid and final case-making puts the social, economic and environmental impacts and opportunities of the bid centre-stage. The bid works in tandem with our clean growth approach and will boost our creativity, collaboration and collective impact before, during and after 2025 – from the events and programming, to the community outreach and engagement, travel planning and core themes. In turn, this will support the wider wellbeing and prosperity of the district.