Footpaths set to be diverted through parkland as part of £12m road upgrade
New pedestrian footpaths look set to be created in Pontefract Park to make way for a major road improvement scheme.
Wakefield Council has been asked to approve plans to allocate land within the district’s largest urban park to allow the project to go ahead.
Work on a £12m upgrade to the A639 Park Road is expected to start later this year.
The work includes widening the road, which would involve incorporating the existing pedestrian footpath into the carriageway.
It is hoped the scheme, which also includes installing new crossing facilities and creating cycle lanes, will ease congestion and improve journey times into the town from the M62.
The council’s licensing committee has been asked to approve proposals for parcels of land within the park to be adopted “for highways purposes”.
A report to committee members, who act as trustees of the park, said: “The council is currently in the detailed design stage for A639 Park Road scheme, and the land is required.
“Rejecting this proposal would halt the progress of the scheme.
“The proposals entail diverting the existing footway which runs along the carriageway to go through the park instead.”
The document said the scheme would lead to increased footfall in the park and provide “a more attractive link” from the Aspire@ThePark leisure centre and Princess Drive housing estate
It added: “This also means less areas for the Trust to maintain. The loss of parcels required for widening the carriageway would not significantly reduce the offer of the park as a whole.”
The Charity Commission would also have to grant consent if councillors agree to the scheme at a meeting on January 14.