Opposition parties are questioning why \u00a34.5m of public regeneration money is needed to support a US-owned space testing centre in Keighley.<\/p>\n
Bradford Council’s executive, led by Reform UK, has approved the grant for Space Test North at Providence Park, with York-registered BSC Filters funding the remainder of the \u00a39m development.<\/p>\n
BSC Filters is part of US-headquartered group Dover Corporation, which reported revenues of about $8.1bn in 2025. <\/p>\n
The project is set to create 50 jobs, with the council’s leadership recently voting through what it described as “precisely the opportunity Keighley should be pursuing”.<\/p>\n
However, the investment via a Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government grant has prompted scrutiny from councillors across three opposition groups.<\/p>\n
Conservative councillor Raph Cohn questioned the public contribution during a meeting discussing the project. <\/p>\n
“It’s the size of the grant and the proportion of the investment of 50% – it’s very, very large,” he said.<\/p>\n
“I struggle to understand why there’s no wholesale financing of it or at least investor financing.”<\/p>\n
He also questioned how much money the council would recover if the project ran into difficulty.<\/p>\n