Works starts on creating extra 550 spaces to Elland Road park and ride

Work is now underway to create an extra 550 spaces to Elland Road park and ride.
PIC: Tony JohnsonPIC: Tony Johnson
PIC: Tony Johnson

The Council's Connecting Leeds programme is set to create an additional 2,000 park and ride spaces across the city by March 2021.

The work on Elland Road marks the start of increasing car parking capacity with an extra 550 spaces, bringing the site up to 1,350 spaces.

Read More
Work to start on £20m scheme to transform transport in Leeds city centre
Coun Lisa Mulherin and Coun Kim Groves (centre) joined by Connecting Leeds partners from Leeds CC, West Yorkshire Combined Authority, First Buses and Bam Nuttall.Coun Lisa Mulherin and Coun Kim Groves (centre) joined by Connecting Leeds partners from Leeds CC, West Yorkshire Combined Authority, First Buses and Bam Nuttall.
Coun Lisa Mulherin and Coun Kim Groves (centre) joined by Connecting Leeds partners from Leeds CC, West Yorkshire Combined Authority, First Buses and Bam Nuttall.
Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The expansion will remove approximately 277,000 annual car journeys from the city centre and 5,000 tonnes of carbon.

Park and ride across the city has proved popular with both Elland Road and Temple Green expected to meet capacity this year.

The works form part of Connecting Leeds' improvements – aiming to invest an unprecedented £270million in the transport network of the city. Connecting Leeds, the long-term transport strategy for Leeds, aims to improve all aspects of transport and travel in the city and connecting to the wider Leeds City Region.

In December 2018, the Council's Executive Board approved plans for the extension and planning permission was granted in January this year. The works are scheduled to complete by summer 2020.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

"With a Climate Emergency now is the time more than ever for commuters to think about their journeys. Providing better and more reliable bus services will give more people the confidence and choice to plan travel, without using their car. It's also a cheaper way to travel for families, with children travelling free from park and ride with a paying adult."

Councillor Kim Groves, Chair of the West Yorkshire Combined Authority Transport Committee, said: "Our Elland Road and Temple Green park and ride sites in Leeds have been hugely successful in reducing congestion and the pollution it causes. Passengers have used the services to make over 2½ million journeys and almost 1.2 million car journeys have been removed from city centre roads.

"Now, with this work to create extra capacity at Elland Road underway and construction of the new park and ride at Stourton shortly due to start, we are literally building on that success."

Andy Crampton, Bam Nuttall LPTIP Project Director, said:"We're creating opportunities, to help unlock the potential of people in the local community, developing skills and local opportunities in construction and infrastructure support and transport services."

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Martin Hirst, commerical director of First West Yorkshire, said: "By working together, local authorities and bus operators can make a real impact on congestion and air quality, provide better services for our customers, support local economies more effectively and ultimately help to increase passenger numbers."

Related topics: