Bradford Councillor says recent transport schemes in Leeds have "damaged" city centre

Councillor Ralph Cohn (Cons, Airedale) said while Leeds had been a popular destination for shoppers from the Bradford District, recent works to reduce traffic in the city centre and the including the introduction of cycle lanes, meant Bradfordians were increasingly looking to areas like Skipton and Harrogate for their days out.

He warned that the city faced “economic suicide” if it continued to pursue low traffic schemes.

The comments were made at a meeting of West Yorkshire Combined Authority’s Investment Committee on Thursday.

On the agenda was the “Westgate Connector” scheme – a £5.8m scheme to “provide a continuous cycle route and pedestrian improvements across Westgate Gyratory.”

It will also upgrade several busy pedestrian crossings to signal control.

A report to the WYCA meeting said that area of the city centre was dominated by students, and 62 per cent of households in that area had no access to a car.

Cllr Cohn suggested the scheme was “poor value for money” for the people of West Yorkshire.

He said: “We’re here to make all lives better, not just people in a very small part of Leeds.

“Leeds is a critically important city. In my opinion it has done a hell of a lot of damage to itself in terms of transport changes.

“Because of the changes, people from where I’m from travel into Leeds less, they use the nighttime economy less. They prefer to go somewhere closer like Skipton, Ilkley or Harrogate.

“The recent transport changes have not even benefitted the people they are supposed to benefit.

“My mother in law is dependent on public transport, and it takes her 15 minutes longer to go to Leeds. It means she doesn’t want to go to Leeds as much – she’ll go to Tong or Pudsey instead.

“We need to be very careful here – we’re in danger of strangling Leeds.

“Leeds is overly dependant on overseas students. That puts us at significant risk. We’re investing in a population that won’t invest in Leeds.

“It is not a sensible use of public money. We can’t commit Leeds to economic suicide by making things worse.”

West Yorkshire Mayor Tracy Brabin, chair of the committee, said: “We’re tackling the issues of getting into Leeds with the tram and bus franchising.

“We understand people need to access Leeds better, that is why the tram is so important, not just for people going from Leeds to Bradford.

“We might disagree on active travel, but I appreciate your candour.”

Simon Pope, Transport Capital Programme Director said the plans would only increase car journeys by 10-20 seconds at certain times of the day.

Ms Brabin said the Authority was dedicated to Vision Zero, a pledge to end deaths on West Yorkshire’s roads, and this scheme would make travelling to and from university and college safer for thousands of students.

Leeds Councillor Salma Arif (Labour) said: “Having spoken to a lot of my local residents in Gipton and Harehills, I’m really happy they will have a safer route into their education.

“In that particular area 62 per cent of people don’t own a vehicle and rely on city centre jobs. For that benefit I think this is really important.”

Councillor Ian Eglin (Reform, Baildon) said: “There is a major pivot away from motor cars and towards cycle lanes. Will cars be forced onto other roads?”

Mr Pope said there was an “overcapacity” on surrounding city centre roads that could cope with any traffic diversions.

Ms Brabin added: “The ambition of Leeds City Council is to follow in Bradford Council’s footsteps in terms of air quality.

“it is pleasing to see that since the introduction of the Clean Air Zone in Bradford there has been a reduction in the number of doctors’ appointments for children relating to respiratory issues by around 25 per cent. That is very re-assuring for people and families in Bradford.”

The funding for the Leeds scheme was approved.

Work is expected to start next month, and be completed by late October 2027.