Member Article

Leeds’ biggest park-and-ride announced as part of £8.57 million redevelopment fund

Plans have been announced for the Leeds city’s biggest park-and-ride yet in the Aire Valley Leeds enterprise zone.

The new site will complement a £2.8 million park-and-ride project opened today (Monday 23 June) near Leeds United’s Elland Road ground which will be used by hundreds of visitors to the Tour de France Grand Départ on Saturday 5 July.

The Elland Road scheme is a joint collaboration between the council, West Yorkshire Combined Authority and bus firm First.

Two more park-and-rides will be constructed at Lawnswood and Stourton if Leeds’s New Generation Transport system, currently the subject of a public inquiry, is given the go-ahead.

Use of the land for park and ride forms a key part of the £8.57 million funding package agreed with central government to accelerate development of Temple Green and other sites within the enterprise zone.

Over 33,000sqm of new commercial floorspace will be delivered with potential to create 630 new jobs. Longer term the enterprise zone has the potential to deliver thousands of new jobs and act as a major driver for economic growth across the Leeds City Region.

Councillor Richard Lewis, Leeds City Council’s executive board member for economy and development, said: “This scheme is both a milestone in the development of the Enterprise Zone and represents another step on the road to providing a network of park-and-ride sites across the city, easing congestion and cutting pollution in the centre.

“As the city continues to recover from the recession we have to take measures to prevent traffic growth creating further congestion. Now we have many residents in the city centre we have to give them a pleasant environment.”

Councillor James Lewis, West Yorkshire Combined Authority Transport Committee chair, said: “This development at Aire Valley will complement the 4,500-plus existing spaces at West Yorkshire’s rail stations and the 800-space facility at Elland Road which opened this week.

“Park-and-ride has proved successful in making journeys for people in West Yorkshire easier and reducing congestion, which in turn benefits businesses and the local economy. “

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Clare Burnett .