Stand Up for Idle Village – Demand Free Parking Is Restored

OPEN LETTER TO THE LEADER AND PORTFOLIO HOLDER FOR TRANSPORT, AT BRADFORD COUNCIL

Re: Mishandling of Idle Village Car Park – Community Betrayal by a Labour-Led Council

As local councillors and representatives of the Idle community, we write to express our deep frustration and anger at the appalling way the Labour-led Bradford Council has handled the ongoing situation with Idle Village car park.

From the start, introducing parking charges at this location was a deeply flawed decision. Idle is not a high-traffic or high-income area, and it was immediately clear that this car park would not bring in meaningful revenue. Yet the Council still spent taxpayer money installing parking meters and signage, investments that appear not only wasteful but now outright reckless.

In a brief moment of sense, five 30-minute free parking bays were introduced, a long overdue acknowledgement of the concerns raised by local businesses, residents, and local Councillors. But inexplicably, and within a few days, the Labour administration removed those bays without consultation, notice, or justification.

This is more than poor planning. It is a clear failure of leadership and a complete lack of accountability from Bradford Council’s Labour Executive. The decision to first impose charges, then introduce modest relief measures, and now remove them has left businesses in limbo, residents furious, and this community feeling utterly disregarded.

Local traders, already under enormous financial strain, are now forced to watch potential customers drive away because of short-sighted decisions made by a leadership that seems completely disconnected from the reality on the ground. This flip-flopping has directly contributed to anxiety, lost income, and growing resentment across Idle.

Residents, shop owners, families, and older people have all asked the same questions:

• Who decided to remove the 30-minute bays?
• What public money was wasted on installing and then removing them?
• Why has there been no consultation with local councillors, businesses, or community groups?
• Why has the Labour leadership repeatedly ignored concerns raised by those living and working in Idle?

Idle is not just a random spot on a map. It is a living, working village. One where people shop local, support one another, and expect decisions to be made with thought, care, and some basic degree of consultation. Instead, we’ve seen a chaotic and arrogant approach from a Council that should know better.

We therefore demand:

• The immediate reinstatement of the 30-minute free parking bays in Idle Village car park.
• A transparent review of the Council’s car parking policy and decision-making process in Idle.
• A commitment from the Labour leadership to engage with local communities before making policy changes that affect them.

Enough is enough.

Sincerely,

Councillors Aislin Naylor, Jeanette Sunderland and Alun Griffiths 

On behalf of the Idle Village and our wider community.

We invite residents, business owners, and visitors to add their names to this letter and stand united in demanding fairness, transparency, and respect.