Bradford Trident

The Bradford Trident geographic area.

Bradford Trident has been the most successful New Deal for Communities programme in the country. It is a community led regeneration company and charity working with partners to transform the Park Lane, Marshfields and West Bowling areas of Bradford.

Since its inception in 2000, Bradford Trident has commissioned over 200 initiatives aimed at improving the quality of life in the area.  Neighbourhood Management is a cornerstone of Bradford Trident’s work, involving and consulting residents on all aspects of its work and co-ordinating activity in the area to eradicate duplication and ensure best use of all resources.

Working in partnership with local residents and public, private and voluntary sector orgainsations helps to ensure lasting and relevant benefits to the whole community and, over the last 10 years, there has been dramatic and positive progress in education, housing, jobs, youth and community involvement, crime, health and the environment.  The Trident Faith Forum involves over 80% of the area's faith communities and is a prime example of this inter-agency work led by Bradford Trident. 

Faith organisations have much to contribute towards the regeneration process. Every faith has a social justice agenda, which is supportive of the aims of a regeneration partnership such as, reducing poverty and increasing educational attainment. Faith communities contribute their buildings for social and economic regeneration. They possess a great willingness and desire in improving the well being of their area and community.

Faith organisations share a unique relationship with their members encompassing both a spiritual and moral aspect. A good example of how effective this relationship can be is demonstrated by for example the Aerobics classes, which were run by a Hindu temple in the area for the elderly. In most cases uptake for this type of project would have been low but because the Temple ran the classes it proved to be extremely successful. Faith organisations have also served as a conduit to access hard to reach groups such as the elderly and those for whom English is a second language. In the Trident area, the mosques have served as a means to access elderly and new immigrant Muslim populations.

Faith Communities, through their faith organisations, have the ability to at times identify and react to situations quicker than either the Local Authority or NDC in our case. The best example of this locally has been the work currently being undertaken by mosques and churches in our area with asylum seekers and refugees and European economic migrants, who have not been engaged as extensively by statutory services.

Trident Area Forum web address www.bd5online.com/faith

project started: 
0013
contact person: 
Aurangzeb Khan

Bradford Trident, Park Lane Centre, Park Lane, Bradford BD5 0LN

phone: 
01274 431441