Progress on schemes worth over £240 million up for consideration
New and larger park and rides, routes for pedestrian and cyclists and an Enterprise Zone extension to be considered at Investment Committee on Tuesday 1 October
24 September 2019
Next week’s meeting of the West Yorkshire Combined Authority’s Investment Committee will be asked to approve progress on a range of schemes with a total value of over £240 million.
Projects being considered include the development of the new park and ride at Stourton in South Leeds that will be serviced by electric buses, extending the successful Temple Green park and ride and a series of measures that will improve bus journeys along the A639 and A631.
Also in Leeds, Phase 2 of the East Leeds Orbital Route will reduce congestion on the city’s outer ring road and provide a new green corridor for people who walk and cycle. And works on The Headrow are transforming transport in the city centre for bus users, pedestrians and cyclists.
Growth Corridor
Castleford’s Growth Corridor highway improvement scheme will support local housing developments and will deliver enhanced active travel provision for people who cycle and walk.
A new 6.5km cycling and walking route between Bradley in Kirklees and Brighouse in Calderdale will provide a safe, alternative active travel route for commuters, leisure walkers, and cyclists. Predominantly off the highway, the new route will encourage mode shift from local car journeys, which will help reduce traffic along the A62/A644.
Park and ride spaces
An extra 104, free rail park and ride spaces will be created at Steeton & Silsden station though the construction of a three-story car park taking the total number of free parking spaces at the station to 247, including nine Blue Badge bays. This scheme is part of a programme to create 2,000 extra park and ride spaces at stations across the West Yorkshire rail network.
In South Kirkby, plans to develop a further 2.64 hectares at South Kirkby Business Park has the potential to generate 115 jobs and generate a £7 million per annum uplift in Gross Value Added (GVA).
Growth Deal
The schemes being considered at next week’s Investment Committee meeting are being funded through the Leeds City Region Growth Deal, the West Yorkshire-plus Transport Fund and the Leeds Public Transport Investment Programme, which is better known as Connecting Leeds.
The West Yorkshire-plus Transport Fund is supported through the Leeds City Region Local Enterprise Partnership Growth Deal – a £1 billion package of Government investment delivered in partnership with the West Yorkshire Combined Authority to accelerate growth and create jobs across Leeds City Region.
Funding approvals for all Leeds City Region Growth Deal projects totals £400 million, with a further £100 million plus expected to be committed by March 2020.
Connecting Leeds is a long-term strategy for Leeds that will see an unprecedented £270 million invested in the city’s transport network.
Impact
Cllr Peter Box, Chair of the West Yorkshire Combined Authority Investment Committee said: “Schemes funded through the Growth Deal and the Connecting Leeds programme are already having a major impact in enabling local businesses to grow and create jobs. They are also helping people throughout West Yorkshire take advantage of those new opportunities as well as to access training and apprenticeships.
“All of the schemes we are considering next week have been designed to support ongoing economic growth that benefits everyone either directly or by reducing congestion on our transport network, making public transport more accessible more efficient and attractive and creating safe and appealing routes for people who walk and cycle.
“Additionally, by reducing queuing traffic and encouraging people to consider alternatives ways to travel, these schemes support our aims of improving local air quality and combating climate change.”
Next week’s public meeting of the Combined Authority Investment Committee takes place at Wellington House in Leeds at 11am on Tuesday 1 October. Everyone is welcome.