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Report - - Bradford Beck (Macro, Academy & Bypass) – Bradford – October 2023 | UK Draining Forum | 28DaysLater.co.uk

Report - Bradford Beck (Macro, Academy & Bypass) – Bradford – October 2023

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TheVicar

Loyal to the Drain
Regular User
Explored with concreteJungle.

It was as long ago as 2009 that I first visited Bradford with Little Mike to see what lay below the city following the course of the Bradford Beck.

14 years later it was largely the same which in many ways was a shame because one of the things that I recalled was just how polluted and filthy this watercourse was.

I had hoped that it might now have been somewhat cleaner but in all honesty was perhaps even more polluted than it was in 2009. Outside central Bradford, the Beck is now perhaps a little better cared for in terms of organised litter picks and sewer overflows being monitored for dry weather flows etc. However within central Bradford where we explored the largely culverted (and thus hidden) watercourse, the Beck is in pretty disgraceful state.

I’ll apologise about the quality of some of the pics as this was a bit of a rush job. I’d have liked to have spent more time on some of the shots to get the lighting right but there just wasn’t the time if we were to see as much as we did. If I lived in Bradford, I’d be down here quite a bit!


We began our journey near the Forster Square Retail Park and headed upstream.

What I love about this culvert is the constant variation in construction styles, materials and features.



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After a little while we arrive at what is known as the Cathedral Arches which lie roughly below the Town Hall on Norfolk Gardens.
Here another tunnel, leads south the section known as Academy. It’s not far upstream here that the tunnel splits into two and becomes annoyingly stoopy for a couple of hundred yards or so which my back doesn’t appreciate at all.

A bit further up, the tunnel returns to a square shape again before taking the form of an 8ft RCP.
This leads to a junction with stairs leading upwards to the left. At the top of the stairs is a smallish brick pipe straight ahead and a watercourse flowing from the right. I believe this could be the Bowling Beck but I could be wrong. Above ground this is roughly on Gordon Street.


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Heading back down the stairs and continuing south, we dodged water pouring from a pipe at an inconvenient angle and eventually found another staircase.
At the top of these stairs, were another set of stairs which opened up into a large CSO chamber. Here another small watercourse joins. Perhaps this is the Bowling Beck? This chamber is located below Mill Lane near Ludlam Street.



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I now remember this chamber from my visit in 2009

It was unlike any I had seen before and indeed since. It’s a two part CSO and this part is the secondary section. Unfortunately, it looks like it could do with some attention as filthy water is stagnating behind the weir when it should drain away and return to the sewer after a storm event.

These next two pics show what it used to look like, as you could climb over into it and walk further upstream to a huge primary overflow chamber. You can see one of the drain holes in the floor which I suspect are blocked with debris. The motors to the powered screen are quite rusty too which makes me wonder if this powered screen is even operational these days as I doubt these places get inspected as often as they should.



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From here it was a good stroll back and another stoop until we returned to the Cathedral Arches again to continue upstream of the Beck where the culvert splits in two.

Hundreds of large tyres and other assorted junk lined each side of the culvert. Someone must have had a field day slinging all that lot in there.



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Further ahead, a modern addition had been made. A pair of slippery blue oval plastic sections of pipe set into concrete, made for an interesting part of the culvert to negotiate without us getting wet.

Shortly after carefully making it through this bit, we were out in the open and it was clear this new addition was reinforcement work required for the construction of a new building above on Quebec Street.



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CONTINUED IN NEXT POST:

 

TheVicar

Loyal to the Drain
Regular User
It’s only a matter of yards upstream before we pass below Bristol St Motors and then out behind the YMCA.


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After passing under this low bridge below Westholme Street, a small watercourse known as the Westbrook joins the Bradford Beck.



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Not long after we emerge into another short open section west of Tumbling Hill Street. This part of the Beck was disgusting. Here we noted dirty soapy water pouring into the Beck from a car wash above. There were piles of oily rubbish and tons of earth dumped here. It’s astounding that this watercourse is allowed to be treated this way.

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Continuing our journey upstream, we head back below ground again where a mainly brick arched tunnel makes a couple of 90 degree bends before we arrive at a modern section, the debris trap, where the Beck gets split in half as it enters from the west. In reality it’s probably more of a 70/30 split, with the 30% flow heading the way we have been walking through a narrow slot. The other 70% flows in down this ramp and through this trap. Here, large debris such as sticks, tree branches and items lobbed into the Beck upstream get caught by the grille and can be fished out from above.

This split in the Beck at this debris trap confirms that the huge quantity of tyres downstream could only have been chucked in at Tumbling Hill St, Westholme St or the road down the side of the YMCA.



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Anyway, after passing the grille, we are back underground at what is known as ‘Bypass’. This was built in the early 90s to prevent flooding in the city centre and so far it has worked perfectly.

Bypass begins further to the south where it intercepts the Westbrook under higher flow conditions and also collects the discharge from a large CSO.

Heading North, we are immediately at the top of the slide. Care has to be taken here to make it to the edge before gently descending the relatively steep slope.

Once at the bottom of the slide, it’s about a 1km walk down the 3.7m diameter tunnel until it curves to the right and we emerge back into the open air and re-join the other part of the Beck by Station Road.



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From here it’s not too far from where we entered the Beck to begin with, but with a little bit of time remaining, we headed downstream to see the final culverted sections.

There was a choice of two tunnels here but when you come out the other end, there are three tunnels. The extra one is blocked off part way along and is home to another CSO but there wasn’t time for that on this trip. This open section is very short and straight away we are back underground in a relatively new concrete box section of culvert which gives way to a pair of beautiful blue brick arches that terminate on Canal Road opposite Sidings Close.



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A quick photo of the derelict building that straddled the Beck and then it was time to head back upstream and past the confluence of the two branches of the Beck where we emerged from Bypass.



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A short way upstream from Bypass, roughly behind the MG showroom, was this outfall pouring out dubious grey water into the Beck. It’s probably a watercourse tainted with several foul water sources that have been misconnected.



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A few yards further upstream and we head under a nice stone bridge which takes us below the Audi showroom. Just look at the sewer litter here that decorates the overhanging branches and foliage at the side of the Beck. Some of the crap hanging from the branches is over 8ft above the regular water level.



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After emerging from the other end of this short culvert, the culprit responsible for all this mess was soon identified: A pair of 5ft CSO outfalls. These lead to a huge unscreened CSO to the west. The unsavoury filth adorning every part of the grille shows just how much non-biodegradable rubbish is discharged into the Beck when it rains.



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Back underground we go one final time as we pass below the Smyths and Tesco car parks before returning to street level and calling it a day.



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Hopefully we will eventually return to Bradford to see the parts we didn’t have time to on this occasion. I just hope it doesn’t take another 14 years before that happens.

Thanks to CJ for joining me on another northern drain trip. :)
 

Calamity Jane

i see beauty in the unloved, places & things
Regular User
Beautiful sections in this culvert. One of the nicest I've seen. 👍 But my god the rubbish, why just why. Sometimes I think we are pure animals in this country :(
 

jezzyboo

28DL Regular User
Regular User
brilliant snaps , What a system Bradford is really enjoyed it 😆 you had a fair old trek around a lot to do that in a single visit well done :thumb
 

TheVicar

Loyal to the Drain
Regular User
Thanks for the nice comments!

@Calamity Jane and @Parky The rubbish and pollution of this place is indeed shameful, hard to believe this is how our environment is still being treated.

@JakeV50 You should give it a try. Perhaps start with a nice culvert first and see what you think.

@jezzyboo and @Mr Budge Cheers, Bradford definitely spoils you for choice with good stuff to see below ground. We wanted to get to see as much as possible as it could be a while before we return. Legs ached a bit by the time we were done.

@Midnight Odyssey That structure is just a segmented precast concrete tunnel. Within those indented sections, bolts are used to fix each segment together.
 

pastybap

28DL Full Member
28DL Full Member
You seem experienced when it comes to drains, what is the design / engineering purpose behind the indented structure of this part of the system?

I would also suspect the steps act as a baffle, and help aeration of the water flow, but I am sure all the civvies and engineers who post on here can put me right if I have erred ;):hmm:)
 
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