Public urged to speak up on plan for improved access at airport
PEOPLE ACROSS Yorkshire are being urged to have their say on proposals for improved rail and road access to Leeds Bradford Airport.
Civic chiefs are planning to build a new Leeds Bradford parkway railway station between Scotland Lane and Cookridge, on the existing Leeds-Harrogate train line. A spur road would run between the airport and the station, which would have a 350-space car park and a bus interchange. Options being considered for improved road access are:
■ The construction of a new road running between the A65 and A658 along the eastern side of the airport;
■ A new road running from the same point on the A65, but this time meeting the A658 to the south west of the airport;
■ Upgrades to existing junctions on the A65 and A658 as well as some localised road widening.
Development work on the proposals is being carried out by Leeds City Council with the West Yorkshire Combined Authority and other partners, including Leeds Bradford.
Council leader Coun Judith Blake said: “These plans to improve road and rail access together with local network upgrades will bring significant benefits as well as helping the airport to grow along with supporting the new jobs we expect to see in the area in the years to come.”
New images released today show how the parkway station is expected to look. Maps and flythrough videos have also been made available to coincide with the start of a public consultation and engagement process that runs until April 12.
It is hoped the station could be built within the next five years and the chosen road option delivered by 2029.
Leeds Bradford chief executive David Laws said: “These latest plans are a major step towards improving the surface access to the airport.”
Funding for the station would come from the £173m that was left over following the controversial cancellation of Leeds’s trolleybus scheme.