Councillors asked to approve Leeds Bradford Airport transport plan (From Ilkley Gazette)

Councillors asked to approve Leeds Bradford Airport transport plan

4:11pm Thursday 18th October 2012 in Local news

Leeds City Council leaders have been asked to agree to push on with plans to form a £1bn regional transport fund.

The authority’s executive board heard yesterday about the proposed West Yorkshire Transport Fund, which would lead to a ten-year programme of rail and road improvements across the region.

If approved and moved forward by Leeds and neighbouring local authorities, the scheme could pay for projects like a new rail link to Leeds Bradford Airport – something many business groups and politicians insist is vital for the future health of the local economy.

The report given to yesterday’s meet-ing at Leeds heard the fund could also:

• generate significant additional investment that would create short and long-term jobs
• improve connections to, from and within West Yorkshire, by creating a fully integrated transport system; and
• reduce the area’s dependence on funding from central government.

It said: “There is clear evidence that without significant and well-targeted investment in the transport network in West Yorkshire, the opportunities for economic growth will be constrained.

“This will be a result of increasing levels of congestion, rising costs of motoring and public transport and the inability to recruit a workforce, interact with other businesses or transport goods and services to people and businesses that need them.”