Council bosses in Leeds seek green light for new park-and-ride schemes

An image of how the new park-and-ride site at Stourton could look.

Leeds City Council today confirmed that planning applications have been submitted for the schemes at Stourton and Elland Road.

The site proposed for Stourton would have 1,200 parking spaces, with access from junction seven of the M621 as well as the A61 from Wakefield and A639 from Rothwell and Oulton.

The Elland Road scheme would involve a 550-space extension of the existing park-and-ride facility next to Leeds United’s ground.

Both initiatives are key elements of the Connecting Leeds transport programme, which is being part-funded using money previously earmarked for the city’s unsuccessful trolleybus plans.

The proposals have been developed by the council in collaboration with the West Yorkshire Combined Authority and local bus operators.

Coun Richard Lewis, the council’s executive member for regeneration, transport and planning, said: “Park-and-ride is an important part of our Connecting Leeds programme, helping to make our transport network as fast, efficient, reliable and accessible as we can.”

Engineering consultants WSP worked alongside the council on the applications, with the firm’s transport team carrying out feasibility studies and business case development.

WSP transport director Simon Pope said the company had provided “significant resource” to the projects, adding that they had been designed to deliver tangible benefits for “decades to come”.