Next step in Cooper Bridge improvements project
Senior Calderdale councillors are being asked to agree to delegate powers to Kirklees Council to deliver a major multi million pound highway scheme at Cooper Bridge.
The A62 to Cooper Bridge Corridor Improvement Scheme spans the border of Calderdale and Kirklees councils, but Cooper Bridge is a consideration for Calderdale Council’s Brighouse ward.
The scheme, which it is estimated will cost around £53.5m, aims to cut congestion, improve air quality, enhance safety, boost public transport and ultimately support economic and housing growth.
It aims to achieve improvements through a mixture of junction redesign, road widening, and active‑travel upgrades, including for cyclists and pedestrians, councillors are told.
Road layouts would change, with three options under consideration as of late 2024, including a modernised roundabout, a larger, one‑way circulatory system intended to handle heavier vehicle movements, and a signal-controlled T‑junction that would significantly alter the junction.
Although the scheme is jointly promoted by Kirklees Council, Calderdale Council and West Yorkshire Combined Authority (WYCA) – which is the prime funder through the West Yorkshire Plus Transport Fund - the majority of it lies within Kirklees and that council is leading on the project.
Calderdale Council cabinet members are asked when they meet on Monday, February 9, to approve its executive powers relating to the scheme being transferred or delegated to Kirklees Council, with the authority’s head of legal approving terms of the agreement.
Transfer of the powers will in effect mean Kirklees Council will be able to carry out work on the scheme where it is on Calderdale’s land.
In turn, Kirklees Council’s Cabinet will also have to consider the transfer.
And the full Calderdale Council, when it meets two days later on February 11, will be asked to approve delegation of remaining non-executive functions and powers to Kirklees.
The existing A62/A644 Cooper Bridge junction comprises a signalled three-armed roundabout connecting the A62 Cooper Bridge Road (southern arm), the A644 Wakefield Road (western arm) and the A62 Leeds Road (eastern arm).
The scheme is at the outline business case stage at WYCA. If agreed, Kirklees Council will determine the planning application for the scheme and carry it through to completion.