Plans on track for three new stations

TRANSPORT: Proposals for three new railway stations across Yorkshire are still on track after bids were submitted for funding.

Plans include a station at Haxby in York, and others close to the White Rose Shopping Centre at Morley in Leeds, and at the park and ride in the Thorpe Park area of East Leeds.

PROPOSALS FOR three new railway stations across Yorkshire remain on track after bids were submitted for funding from the Government.

Plans to reopen a station at Haxby in York, which closed in 1930, have been in development for decades, while the West Yorkshire Combined Authority (WYCA) began public consultations on opening stations close to the White Rose Shopping Centre,

at Morley in Leeds, and at a proposed park and ride scheme in the Thorpe Park area of East Leeds back in 2018.

Bids for all three schemes have now been submitted to the Department for Transport’s New Stations Fund, which announced £20m of new funding for the construction of new stations and restoration of disused rail links.

The Haxby bid was submitted by York Council, after it pledged to put £50,000 towards researching the plan and creating a business case for opening the station in May.

There have been numerous attempts to reopen a station in the town in recent years, including a bid for funding from Network Rail in 2013.

At the time, the council said there were more than 22,000 people living within three miles of the proposed station who would benefit from faster links to York, Leeds and Manchester.

A Liberal Democrat councillor for Haxby and Wigginton Ward, Coun Ed Pearson, said residents “overwhelmingly” in favour of a new station for Haxby, with 90 per cent of respondents to a recent survey backing the idea.

He said: “Haxby station has been talked about for decades, and successive governments have failed to deliver it. This station proposal has cross-party support, we have demonstrated there is a robust and viable business case, and local residents are strongly in favour.

“It is now time for the Conservative Government to step up to their promise for investment in the North of England.”

The plans for White Rose and Thorpe Park stations are part of the WYCA’s wider Connecting Leeds programme.

The Thorpe Park scheme would, it said, improve transport links for commuters into the city centre and provide a much needed park and ride. The White Rose scheme would benefit shoppers and staff at a nearby office park.

The chair of the WYCA’s transport committee, Coun Kim Groves, said: “Both stations will result in improved transport links across the region and will act as a catalyst for local regeneration and housing growth, economic activity and jobs in the surrounding area. We await to hear the Government’s decision.”

A Department for Transport spokesperson said the bids had been received and would be assessed along with all of the other nominated stations.

It is time for the Government to step up to their promise.

Coun Ed Pearson, Liberal Democrat councillor for Haxby and Wigginton Ward.