Leeds trolleybus chiefs aiming to answer their critics

The Yorkshire Post has been given advance access to a 100-page, 30,000-word ‘statement of case’ that will be published in full online tomorrow.

It is one of a series of documents that have been prepared by trolleybus chiefs for the public inquiry that will decide the fate of their £250m scheme.

The documents set out more clearly than ever before how some journeys on the New Generation Transport (NGT) system would be nearly 40 per cent faster than those made by existing bus services.

They also reveal that the network would include a significantly greater amount of bus and cycle lane provision than previously thought.

Another section in the documents outlines how a £20m funding gap that has been hanging over the scheme would be filled by borrowing, to be paid back by operating revenues.

Other ideas in the updated paperwork include the creation of a 3,500 sq m public park in Headingley and environmental improvements to Hyde Park Corner and Monument Moor.

Jointly led by Leeds City Council and West Yorkshire passenger transport authority Metro, NGT has come under fire from opponents who claim it offers poor value for money and would damage the environment and people’s quality of life.

Metro chairman Coun James Lewis said: “There will be those who still oppose the scheme and, they will, quite rightly, have their chance to present evidence at the forthcoming public inquiry.

“However, the publication of this updated information shows just how far we have been able to move in the direction of meeting their concerns.”

NGT’s vehicles would be powered electrically via overhead wires on a 14.8km network running between Holt Park in the north and Stourton in the south of Leeds via the city centre.

The scheme was initially given the green light by the Department for Transport in 2012.

However, the city still has to secure the Transport Works Act (TWA) Order that would give it permission to build and operate the system.

The Government will make a decision on the award of the TWA Order using the findings of a public inquiry that is due to get under way in May.

The new documents will be published tomorrow on the www.ngtmetro.com website.