Funding for £26m White Rose shopping centre Station to be approved by regional leaders

The plans, which involve spending £26m on a new rail station near the White Rose shopping centre, are also likely to mean the end of Cottingley rail station, which sits just a few hundred yards down the track.

According to a document from the West Yorkshire Combined Authority, the scheme is expected to get full approval at a full meeting of regional council leaders next week.

It claims the plans have wide social benefits including “enhanced access to employment” at White Rose Office Park as well as better transport services to Leeds City Centre, Dewsbury and Huddersfield.

The report added: “The station will provide the catalyst for continued expansion of the office park and wider economic development in the area, contributing to regeneration in south Leeds.

“The scheme will provide an accessible rail station for commuters and shoppers, including the provision of step free access between platforms. A reduction in emissions is also expected because of the shift from road to rail journeys.”

The plans will effectively see Cottingley Rail Station, currently in a residential area of south Leeds, move half a mile down the line to a site at the office park.

Closure plans for Cottingley Station were announced back in October, with confirmation the site is expected to close at some point between late 2022 and Spring 2023.

A consultation paper published that month by WYCA claimed Cottingley Station didn’t meet accessibility standards and was too far from “business and education opportunities” than the proposed new site.

The plans have already been approved by WYCA’s place committee, and are set to have the final rubber-stamp at a full WYCA meeting on Thursday, December 9.

Work to build the new White Rose station is expected to start at some point later this year, and be finished by the end of 2022.

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