Yorkshire Water proud to support Bradford 2025’s Wild Uplands

Yorkshire Water is proud to support Bradford 2025 UK City of Culture’s Wild Uplands (May to October 2025) project, which opens to the public this weekend. 

It sees four new contemporary visual artworks created as part of an extraordinary, large-scale, open-air gallery. The new sculptures and installations are inspired by the natural world surrounding their temporary home on Penistone Hill Country Park, above Haworth, which is owned by Yorkshire Water and managed by Bradford Council.  

Some of Yorkshire Water’s Ranger Team helped with the installation, using their knowledge and skills so that the impact of the sculptures on this important moorland site is kept to a minimum.

Yorkshire Water’s home office is based in Bradford. The company employs over 5,000 people, 40% of whom, live, work and raise their families in the region. Bradford 2025 presents a great opportunity to celebrate its roots in the glorious county of Yorkshire, and like the city of culture, Yorkshire Water celebrates diversity, promotes inclusion and champions positive change.   

The utility will be doing right by Yorkshire by investing £4.624m every day across the region (including £150m investment in Bradford) for the next five years to protect, nurture and grow what is right for the environment, right for customers, and right for colleagues.   

As stewards and custodians of the area and the neighbouring Top Withens, much of Yorkshire Water’s work over the next five years addresses some of the themes explored in Wild Uplands, about the future of the natural world in light of the ongoing climate crisis.  Yorkshire Water worked closely with Bradford Council, Natural England and the BD25 team to bring this exciting project to life in a way that both celebrates and protects the natural landscape.  

Lee Otter, head of land and property, Yorkshire Water, said: “Yorkshire Water is one of the county’s largest landowners and we take this role very seriously.  As custodians of some of Yorkshire’s most stunning scenery, important areas of biodiversity, ecology and Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) we are pleased to support Bradford 2025 and the creation of Wild Uplands.  

“We share the aspirations of the leading national and international artists and are looking forward to seeing their interpretation of the drama of this landscape, its natural attributes and the industrial heritage of these former quarries.  Supporting Wild Uplands helps us to highlight some of the work we are doing to protect and preserve Yorkshire landscapes, including those in and around Penistone Hill Country Park, high above Haworth. 

“Together with our rangers, our ecologists, our land and property teams, our tenants and our multiple key strategic partnerships, including the National Trust, Moors for the future, the Yorkshire Peat Partnership, and many others, we are working together to build future resilience, increase biodiversity and install natural flood management systems.  This partnership working will help us to withstand climate change and extreme weather events to protect the landscape and retain this important heritage as a legacy for the generations to come.”  

Dan Bates, Executive Director of Bradford 2025 added: “As caretakers of this place and proud champions of Bradford 2025, Yorkshire Water has been instrumental in helping our Wild Uplands project come to life in a way that both enhances, and protects, this very special landscape. We can’t wait for people to come and visit these incredible new artworks against this breathtaking natural backdrop – which is a work of art in itself.”

Wild Uplands, which will be in situ from 24th May until 12th October, will shine a light on this beautiful part of this wonderful county. Yorkshire Water is proud to play its part in support of Bradford 2025 so that everyone can understand what Yorkshire folk already know - that this wild, untamed landscape is worth treasuring, sharing and protecting for generations to come.  

Wild Uplands is also supported by British Council, Natural England, The National Lottery Heritage Fund and The Linbury Trust.