Leeds inland port plans shouldn’t fall victim to Covid-19, claim campaigners

The scheme, which the council had claimed could take hundreds of thousands of tonnes of freight off Britain’s roads, has been in the pipeline for years, but the Yorkshire Party has stressed it is vital for the future of transport in the region.

A report that went before Leeds City Council decision-makers back in January claimed construction of the port could be complete as early as spring next year.

However, this was before the Covid-19 pandemic took hold and led to mass quarantines and worldwide economic problems.

The party’s policy director, Andy Shead, said: “The Leeds Inland Port is an exciting and positive project with an initial target of up to 200,000 tonnes of freight taken off the road.

“It is a development that will significantly benefit Leeds and deserves ongoing support from Westminster and the West Yorkshire Combined Authority. In a Post-Covid and Post-Brexit world, dealing with many additional challenges including global warming, it would be foolish to not make an investment that can relieve our already stretched transportation network.

“The Yorkshire Party is committed to working with the Canals and Rivers Trust to ensure Yorkshire’s Waterways are not neglected from future development, whether it be for transport, freight or tourism.

“Once again it seems that lessons learnt decades ago are only just being rediscovered, but if we are to truly tackle our transportation issues within Yorkshire and the UK as a whole we are likely to witness similar re-discoveries take place.”

A recent document which outlined plans for the scheme was discussed by the West Yorkshire Combined Authority in January. It suggested construction work could start in September 2020 and be completed by March 2021.

It added that the port would move up to 200,000 tonnes of road freight to water in the first year of operation.

Leeds City Council has been contacted for a comment.