Councillor Mike Ellis, retaining his Council seat at the 2014 election Tributes have been paid to a “widely known and well liked” Bradford Councillor who died this morning. Conservative Councillor Mike Ellis, who represented the Bingley Rural ward had been fighting cancer. As well as being active in his ward, Cllr Ellis also sat on planning panels, scrutiny committees, and as a council representative on outside bodies looking at key issues such as transport and flooding. He was also the whip of the Conservative opposition. The party’s leader on the Council said that his main priority was “always his family, who he always spoke of with affection and pride.”
Both Shipley and Keighley could get up to £25 million funding
KEIGHLEY and Shipley are preparing bids for up to £25 million in Government funding. However, concerns have been raised that the “compromised” time scale provided to draw up the Town Plan priorities had left some groups struggling to get their submissions completed in time. In Late 2019, shortly before the General Election, the Government announced a number of towns across the UK that would benefit from its Towns Fund - meaning they would be have access to up to £25m for projects to regenerate the area. A Towns Fund board, which included local business leaders and councillors, was set up to draw up plans on where the money could go, and local groups were invited to make suggestions.
We don t want to go back to normal, because normal wasn t good enough - Bradford plans post-Covid recovery
A social distancing sign in City Park
BRADFORD needs to plan for an economic recovery that will leave the District in better shape than it was before the Covid pandemic Councillors have heard. Yesterday the Chair of the District’s Economic Recovery Board said: “We don’t want to go back to normal, because normal wasn’t good enough.” Professor Zahir Irani, Deputy Vice Chancellor, University of Bradford, was speaking during a meeting of Bradford Council’s Executive, where members were asked to approved The Bradford District Economic Recovery Plan.
TRIBUTE has been paid to a Canadian air crew which died during a Second World War training flight. Covid restrictions meant the annual service at the site where the plane crashed – off Tewitt Lane, above Oakworth – couldn t take place in its usual format this year. But wreaths and flowers have been placed at the memorial this weekend, with social distancing being observed. Among those paying their respects today – when the service would normally have taken place – were West Yorkshire Deputy Lieutenant Robin Wright, Keighley MP Robbie Moore and councillors Rebecca Poulsen and Russell Brown. Janet Armstrong – from Oakworth Village Society, which oversees the commemoration – laid a wreath on behalf of the Royal Canadian Air Force.
She said: He was a lovely guy, he was a joy. I put him forward as Lord Mayor and was so happy to serve as his deputy. He was so lovely, he has a lovely wife and a lovely family and he was a really good friend to me. I always felt like part of his family, he always made you feel welcome and I m really upset by this, it s so shocking I still can t believe its true. I thought he was starting to get better; it s a shock. He will be truly missed, I went to Pakistan with him last year and it was such a good time, we laughed every day.