Regional Transport Board approves new schemes

Regional Transport bosses have today backed ten key schemes worth more than £170m and aimed at meeting business and commuter travel needs in Yorkshire and Humber.

Members of the Yorkshire and Humber Assembly’s Regional Transport Board have endorsed projects totalling more than £170m and covering areas including Leeds, York, Sheffield, Rotherham, Barnsley, North Yorkshire, along with plans to roll out the Yorcard scheme to provide a ticketing system for seamless public transport travel throughout the region.

Following today’s meeting to review progress on Yorkshire and Humber’s regional transport funding allocations (RFA), the Board’s endorsement for the schemes will be presented to Ministers, who will progress each project with local authorities and others parties involved in sponsoring individual proposals.

Schemes being supported by the Board (total RFA support figures in millions) are:

• Yorcard, £28m
• Leeds Station Southern Access, £10.798m
• White Rose Way, Doncaster, £15m
• A61 Penistone Road Quality Bus Corridor, Sheffield, £9.959m
• East Leeds Parkway, Micklefield, Leeds, £19.4m
• York Park and Ride - Askham Bar, £5.241m
• York Park and Ride - A59, £10.401m
• York Park and Ride - Clifton Moor, £5.212m
• Rotherham to Sheffield Bus Rapid Transit Northern Route, £36.059m
• A684 Bedale, Aiskew, Leeming Bar Bypass, North Yorkshire £ 31.388m

Regional Transport Board Chair Mark Kirk said the decision to support the schemes had been taken following independent analysis.

“The approach has been extremely rigorous and aimed at ensuring schemes brought forward make maximum use of the full regional funding allocation to produce good quality projects,’’ he added.

“Supporting schemes which deliver regional policies has been a key overall objective in carrying out these assessments, which we hope will provide some of the improved transport links the region is in serious need of.’’

The review was carried out to fill emerging gaps in the early to mid years of the RFA programme. A total of 24 schemes were originally submitted by the February deadline, with a combined value of £333.4m.

Analysis was then carried out on each scheme, providing an overview assessment of policy, value for money and deliverability for each scheme.

Later this year a full review of the Regional Funding Allocation for Transport will be taking place.