Mass transit system could see former rail route between Dewsbury and Huddersfield re-opened
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The vision as laid out by West Yorkshire Combined Authority (WYCA) – a group of leading councillors and officers from West Yorkshire councils, plus York, that works on major infrastructure projects – includes opportunities for mass transit in Kirklees.
That could mean a tram, trolleybus or light rail system stopping at Fartown, Brackenhall and Bradley in Huddersfield and going on to Mirfield, Ravensthorpe and Dewsbury and eventually Leeds.
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Hide AdA new station or halt is envisaged to serve the proposed major housing development on farmland at Chidswell, near Dewsbury – a 296-acre site earmarked for 1,500 homes.
From Dewsbury new routes would link up with Heckmondwike, Cleckheaton and Junction 26 of the M62 at Chain Bar, where a park and ride scheme would be created.
In unveiling their “transformational” 20-year programme transport chiefs said West Yorkshire had fallen behind other regions for too long and declared: “It’s our time.”
They are looking to “re-allocate” road space by developing a range of congestion-busters including rapid bus and “new forms of technology”, as well as investigating various options for routes in and out of towns in the borough.
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Hide AdPlans will be finalised over the next two years via public consultation in order to present a business case to government and bid for a share of £4.2bn in grants from 2022.
Councillor Kim Groves, WYCA’s chair of transport, said it was “too early” to pin down any new routes in Kirklees but that disused railway lines had been identified at the start of the project.
In 2018 an indicative map sparked fears that the mass transit system could use the route of the Spen Valley Greenway, once a part of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway line.
Coun Groves added: “We are looking at different route options and one of the key areas we need to connect [to] is Dewsbury Riverside.
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Hide Ad“Kirklees have got a huge housing programme being developed around the Dewsbury Riverside area.
“We have identified 35 housing growth areas [in our vision] because there are behaviour changes in getting public transport in there. It’s a first choice rather than the private car. It’s crucial.
We’ve got the employment zones around that area as well.”
The new scheme – dubbed the Connectivity Infrastructure Plan and Mass Transit 2040 Vision – seeks to direct workers and students towards new methods of commuting with private car use considered “the biggest thing” to be addressed.
Coun Groves said: “The reason why this work is so important is that we can address congestion, address inequalities and the levelling-up agenda. There’s a lot resting on all of this.
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Hide Ad“We don’t have a tram system [in West Yorkshire]. Places like Birmingham and Manchester have had this funding in the past and we have been left behind. It’s our time.”
Chair of WYCA, Coun Susan Hinchcliffe, said mass transit investment was crucial “for the sake of our economy”. The plans have cross-party support.
Asked whether securing only part of the funds needed to create the mass transit system would necessitate a paring-back of WYCA’s plans, she said: “We start with one, we build on, we build on, and we keep building on.
“You use what you’ve got and you have different bits of projects that you can deliver for the money you’ve got, and scale it accordingly.
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Hide Ad“You have to make sure that you have plans for everything and then, the money you get, you spend on extending it a bit further. It doesn’t mean that you stop doing things. It just means that you deliver the quantum of what you can at that point.
“But there will always be different investment money coming along. Transport is going to be a major issue for us in the future.
“It is a long-term plan. You can’t do this overnight. The time is right now to get motoring with it.”