Agenda item

To consider the report of the Chief Officer, Highways and Transportation which provides an update and background to the West Yorkshire Mass Transit programme proposals, together with details of Leeds City Council response to the statutory consultation of the West Yorkshire Mass Transit Vision 2040.

The Committee received the report of the Chief Officer, Highways and Transportation which provided a briefing regarding the Climate Emergency planning of the West Yorkshire Mass Transit Programme. The Programme is being promoted by West Yorkshire Combined Authority (WYCA), with Leeds City Council (LCC) as a strategic partner. The report included details of thebackground and the LCC response to the statutory consultation, ‘West Yorkshire Mass Transit Vision 2040’.

The Committee received a presentation on the Programme by Director of Mass Transit at WYCA, Kevin Murray, and LCC Officer Sabby Khaira, Programme Executive Manager of Leeds Public Transport Investment Programme. The presentation briefed the Committee on the current position of the Programme. The Programme has been involved in a number of consultations, alongside the West Yorkshire Connectivity Infrastructure Plan, alongside strategies for a number of transport options including rail, bus, walking, cycling, future mobility and case for change reports. Together these propose a meaningful alternative to car ownership, helping Leeds towards the 2030 deadline to achieve Net Zero Carbon.

The Vision has the following emphasis;

1)  Focus on public good: people & prosperity

2)  Evidence led development

3)  Bold and ambitious investment for future generations

The intention is that for short journeys the default option will be walking or cycling. Buses will remain the heart of the transport system and rail will provide connectivity between centres. The new Mass Transit system will fill gaps within the current provision and compliment the other modes of transport.

The four design principles referenced are;

1)  People first

2)  Environmental responsibility

3)  Better connected

4)  Celebrating West Yorkshire

The Vision intends to build environmental responsibility into the work by considering biodiversity, the natural landscape and placemaking of the West Yorkshire region.

The Committee discussed a number of issues relating to the Vision, focusing on the environmental aspects of the proposals.

Route planning priorities were discussed, and it was noted that there is balance between prioritising areas with low car ownership and areas with high car ownership and congestion. The intention is to implement routes in the most high demand areas to begin with, learning lessons from cities such as Manchester where the focus was on the simpler areas to implement mass transit, with the more complicated areas developed later on. The Committee considered the impact that a city centre focus has on carbon emissions, such as reducing length travel routes, ease of movement and making public transport an attractive alternative to car ownership. The Committee’s views on route planning were noted.

The Committee requested information on the ownership and operation of the Vision, with the likely model being for the system to be publicly run and largely publicly funded, but some potential for private funding may be a part of the funding solution.

The Committee discussed future-proofing, and the need to focus on technology which is deliverable within the short term, whilst allowing developing technology to be integrated when feasible.

The Committee noted that the Net Zero ambition is for 2030, whilst the Mass Transit completion target is 2040.

RESOLVED: The Committee thanked Officers from Leeds City Council and West Yorkshire Combined Authority, and noted the contents of the report, in

conjunction with the report published under agenda item 14 from the Leeds City Council Executive Board meeting held on the 14th December 2022 titled ‘West Yorkshire Mass Transit Vision 2040 Consultation - LCC Response’.