4. Ask a Question

We want to hear from you. Is there anything you are not quite sure on or would like to ask? Please ask a question below and we will look to respond on this page.

Listen back to our webinars, to find out more about the strategy and hear the questions everyone else is asking. To register for our next session please visit the Eventbrite page .

Webinar 1: The need for change

Webinar 2: Thinking about transport differently

Webinar 3 - Transforming the City Centre

Webinar 4 - De-carbonising Transport

Webinar 5 - Creating healthier streets spaces and communities

Webinar 6 - Mass Transit: The opportunities for Leeds and West Yorkshire

Webinar 7 - Enhancing public transport

Webinar 8 - What does this mean for Leeds?

Why is the Transport Strategy being developed and why is it needed now?

Leeds is undergoing significant change. Substantial growth is planned and major transport projects are already planned or underway. In addition, there is a pressing need to address the Climate Emergency before it is too late and improve the health and wellbeing of our citizens. The COVID-19 pandemic and our recovery from this has also heightened our resolve to deliver inclusive economic growth. It is vital we have a transport strategy to identify the infrastructure, programs and services required to keep Leeds moving in a sustainable way as it recovers and grows. We need to ensure we get the best use from both new and existing infrastructure whilst creating great places for people. This means ensuring the transport system supports all users of the city centre including residents, workers and visitors such as tourists and locals looking to enjoy the cultural, retail, recreational and other attractions that our city offers.

Is this the first consultation?

Our Transport Conversation for the city started back in 2016 and since then we have regularly consulted on our plans via Connecting Leeds, including our transport response during the COVID19 pandemic. However, it is the first time that we have consulted on this updated Transport Strategy.

How long is the consultation open for?

The consultation is open until Friday March 5th 2021.

What’s next?

Consultation responses will be collated and anonymised by the Council before analysis and summary. Between the end of the consultation period and the launch of the Transport Strategy, we will engage with key stakeholders to discuss the key findings from the consultation period and proposed amendments, and to engage on the delivery plans. Finally, the revised Transport Strategy will be launched via the website, supported by a communications campaign. Alongside the Transport Strategy document itself will be provided information concerning the outcome of the consultation process. The aim of this is to demonstrate the value placed on stakeholders’ views, and how these helped to shape the Transport Strategy.

What are the Inclusive Growth and Health and Well-being strategies?

The Inclusive Growth Strategy sets out our ambition for Leeds. It is a route map of how best to deliver growth that is inclusive, draws on the talents of, and benefits all our citizens and communities. The strategy sets out how everyone can contribute to the city’s growth. It provides a framework for how all parts of the council will work with businesses, universities, colleges, schools, the community sector, and with partners in the city region, Yorkshire, the North and national government to grow our economy.

The Health and Wellbeing Strategy is about how we put in place the best conditions in Leeds for people to live fulfilling lives – a healthy city with high quality services. Everyone in Leeds has a stake in creating a city which does the very best for its people. The strategy is our blueprint for how we will achieve that. It is led by the partners on the Leeds Health and Wellbeing Board and it belongs to everyone.

What is Transport for the North?

Transport for the North (TfN) is the first statutory sub-national transport body in the United Kingdom. It was formed in 2018 to make the case for strategic transport improvements across the North of England.

What is the West Yorkshire Combined Authority?

The West Yorkshire Combined Authority (WYCA) is the combined authority for West Yorkshire in England. It was established by statutory instrument under the Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Act 2009 on 1 April 2014. It is a strategic authority with powers over transport, economic development and regeneration.

What is the Strategic Economic Plan?

The Strategic Economic Plan was developed by West Yorkshire Combined Authority with their partner organisation, the Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership. It sets out how the Leeds City Region will:

What is HS2?

HS2 is a state-of-the-art, high-speed line critical for the UK’s low carbon transport future. It will provide much-needed rail capacity across the country, and is integral to rail projects in the North and Midlands – helping rebalance the UK economy.

The construction of the new railway is split into three phases – Phase One linking London and the West Midlands; Phase 2a linking the West Midlands and the North via Crewe; and Phase 2b completing the railway to Manchester and Leeds.

The Phase 2b line forms a Y shape, split into an eastern and a western leg. The eastern leg will connect to high speed lines in the West Midlands and run through to Leeds. The government is drawing-up an integrated rail plan for the North and Midlands, to identify the most effective sequencing of relevant investments and how to integrate HS2, Northern Powerhouse Rail and other rail investments. This plan will be informed by an assessment of the rail needs of the Midlands and the north undertaken by the National Infrastructure Commission.

What is Northern Powerhouse Rail?

Northern Powerhouse Rail is a new rail network for the North of England aimed at increasing the rail capacity for the 21st century. Featuring new and significantly upgraded railway lines, it will be the region’s single biggest transport investment since the Industrial Revolution. It will improve journey times and boost the number of trains per hour, allowing the northern economy to operate on a better level. It will transform rail services making it easier to move between the region’s towns and cities.

What is the Leeds Climate Commission?

The Leeds Climate Commission was established in 2017 to help Leeds to make a positive choice on issues relating to energy, carbon, weather and climate. It brings together key organisations and actors from across the city and from the public, private and third sectors.

Informed by the work of the UK Committee on Climate Change, the Leeds Climate Commission seeks to be an independent voice in the city, providing authoritative advice on steps towards a low carbon, climate resilient future so as to inform policies and shape the actions of local stakeholders and decision makers. It will monitor progress towards meeting the city’s carbon reduction targets and recommend actions to keep the city on track and advise on the assessment of the climate-related risks and adaptation opportunities in the city and on progress towards climate resilience.

What is Connecting Leeds?

Connecting Leeds is our ambition to transform travel in Leeds for people who live, work in and visit the city.

What is the Leeds Economic Recovery Framework?

Leeds City Council has launched an economic recovery framework which sets out the approach to how Leeds will respond to the economic impact of Covid-19. The framework was outlined to executive board on Wednesday 21 October.

What are Orca wands?

These are 1m high temporary posts that allow the creation of segregated cycle lanes. The posts are strong enough to rebound from an impact with vehicles.

What is meant by de-carbonising transport?

In June 2019, the UK became the first major economy to pass a net zero law to end its contribution to climate change by 2050. Transport is now the largest contributor to UK domestic greenhouse gas emissions, contributing 28% of UK domestic emissions in 2018. De-carbonising transport means reducing the emissions of greenhouse gases from transport modes through changes in fuel use, innovation and travel behaviour.

What is Shared Mobility?

Shared mobility is the shared use of a vehicle, motorcycle, scooter, bicycle, or other travel mode. Shared mobility provides users with short-term access to one of these modes of travel as they are needed.

What is MAAS?

The integration of various modes of transport along with information and payment functions into a single mobility service.

What is micromobility?

Micromobility refers to a range of small, lightweight vehicles operating at speeds typically below 25 km/h (15 mph) and driven by users personally (unlike rickshaws). Micromobility devices include bicycles, Ebikes, electric scooters, electric skateboards, shared bicycles, and electric pedal assisted bicycles.

What are Autonomous Vehicles?

An autonomous vehicle is a vehicle that can drive itself without input from a human driver. These types of vehicles are also known as self-driving cars, driverless cars, or robotic cars.

What is Mass Transit?

Mass Transit is a term used to describe high quality public transport systems typically in urban areas which have the capacity to move large numbers of people and offer regular, frequent and quick services between key centres and areas of housing or employment.

What is the Bus Alliance?

The West Yorkshire Bus Alliance aims to put customers at the heart of improving services, keeping buses moving and developing a sustainable bus network. It is made up of the West Yorkshire Combined Authority, Arrive Yorkshire, First West Yorkshire, Transdev Keighley and the Association of Bus Operators in West Yorkshire.

By working together, the alliance aims to deliver quicker and more reliable journeys and easy-to-understand and affordable fares for people of all ages. They also want to make more progress towards cleaner, less-polluting vehicles with better facilities such as free Wi-Fi and USB charging points, and provide customers with better travel advice and journey planning information.

What is the West Yorkshire plus Transport Fund?

The West Yorkshire plus Transport Fund (WY+TF) is a 20-year commitment for the Leeds City Region, to a value of £1bn. The Fund is targeted at enabling key development areas and will help to create about 20,000 new jobs over the next 10 years. A number of strategic transport projects will be delivered to facilitate growth identified in the Strategic Economic Plan (SEP), which encompass:

• Improved motorway access

• Orbital road improvements

• Radial improvements on corridors for better public transport options into our urban centres

• Road and rail improvements between district hubs to provide capacity and better connectivity

• Enhanced rail station gateways with increased car parking capacity for park and ride.

High Speed 2

We are working with the Department for Transport and HS2 Limited to bring HS2 to Leeds. HS2 is a critical component of our established plans to transform the region and needs to be delivered as part of a wider integrated network of improvements. We have been clear that in order to maximise the benefits of HS2 for the Leeds district we have to ensure that everyone can access the network. We have called on government to commit to progressing the eastern leg at the same time as the western leg aiding economic recovery following the COVID-19 outbreak while providing towns and cities with much-needed capacity and connectivity improvements.

LBA Expansion

The draft strategy is clear that aviation growth and meeting zero carbon targets are fundamentally incompatible until such a time as new technologies are developed. However, as this is not just an issue effecting Leeds, we have called upon central government to include aviation in national carbon reduction targets alongside a national and international strategy for de-carbonising air travel, to invest in research and design, which would create new jobs in cleaner aviation technology and to invest in HS2 and Northern Powerhouse Rail to provide reliable alternatives to domestic flights and flights to near European neighbours alongside the introduction of a frequent flyer levy.

Following the publication of the draft strategy, a decision by the City Plans Panel on 11th February 2021 was taken on a planning application in relation to Leeds Bradford Airport. A statement was released following the decision which can be read here . The discussions can be watched here . This decision was also discussed at our webinar on Decarbonising Transport, which can be re-watched here (discussion on this point starts at 36 minutes).

The decision on the planning application has been referred to Secretary of State for consideration of the application and whether to ‘call-in’ the proposal and hold a public enquiry. The decision has yet to be made.

Disabled access

It is recognised that people with disabilities or a mobility impairments can be reliant on private vehicles in order to travel about the district and access local centres as well as the city centre. As part of our current city centre proposals for the Headrow and Corn Exchange gateways the provision of blue badge spaces has increased. Where spaces have been relocated, we sought to relocate them as close as possible to the original location. The street design of our proposals has been carefully developed with the access and usability group amongst others to ensure the city centre is accessible for all.

Funding

The funding of transport is complex and the funding of the strategy will come from a variety of sources. At this moment, funding comes from a variety of sources, namely central government (grants and bids) including the Local Transport Plan Integrated Transport allocation, Third party contributions (planning gains) or other public sector sources (i.e. Sustrans or Highways England). Looking forward the elected Mayor of West Yorkshire is an opportunity for greater devolution of powers and funding to the Combined Authority to boost spend on transport in the region.

The strategy is clear that current funding streams are unpredictable and are often focused on capital investment (infrastructure) and will not enable us to get on and deliver all the key projects we need to transform our transport system. We have specifically called for central government to commit to longer term funding settlements and also help fund smaller, more local measures within communities.

The full cost of the COVID-19 pandemic is unknown and is likely to impact future public funding availability. We are committed as part of this strategy to identify new funding sources that can help us deliver our vision.

Mass Transit

We are working in partnership with the West Yorkshire Combined Authority in the development of their Mass Transit Vision for West Yorkshire. They Combined Authority are currently also consulting on the proposals and further details can be found here.

Micro mobility

The opportunities for micro-mobility within Leeds was discussed on our second webinar, ‘Thinking about Transport differently’. We are looking to bring a trial of e-scooters to the city but any trial would be subject to consultation to mitigate any negative effects on particular street users such as those with a disability or mobility impairment.