Report outlining Leeds City Council’s response to the Integrated Rail Plan to be discussed by senior councillors

Leeds City Council’s executive board is set to discuss the impact of the government’s Integrated Rail Plan (IRP) and its response at a meeting at Civic Hall on Wednesday 15 December. 

The IRP is the government’s plan for delivering major rail investment in the north and the Midlands, which announced that the HS2 east line would not currently be built to Leeds. In its place, the government committed to conducting a study to establish the most effective way to provide high speed rail to Leeds.

This has significant implications for Leeds’ rail network and broader regional and national connectivity, along with the potential for future economic growth. To mitigate these implications and to provide greater clarity around the IRP, Leeds City Council is set to make several requests as part of its response.

A key demand set to be made by the council’s executive board is in relation to the IRP’s maintained ambition to deliver high speed trains services to Leeds. The IRP recognised the need to bring high speed services to Leeds from both Manchester and the Midlands and proposed a study to determine how best to achieve this alongside increasing Leeds Station capacity. The council is set to request to be a joint client in the government’s proposed future study, to ensure Leeds has an input into future decisions on connectivity in the city.

This study must include discussions around the future of the proposed capacity enhancing T-shaped Leeds Station extension that formed part of the original HS2 plans, how best to develop a new line from Leeds serving Sheffield and onward options to the eastern high-speed connections including the exploration of potential connections to the East Coast Mainline and Midlands Mainline.

Leeds to Sheffield is the worst connection of any two comparable European cities with 90 per cent of journeys made by road. Linking these two Yorkshire cities with efficient rail services remains a long-standing priority for the region.

The executive board will also call for clarity around land which had been safeguarded by the government for the delivery of HS2. With no timeline set for the government’s study to review how to get high speed trains to Leeds, homes, businesses, and land along the phase 2b route remain part of the government’s formal safeguarding directions.

Given the importance of the issue to residents, employers and landowners that are impacted, the council is set to call for a timescale for the study to be completed and will make the case for safeguarding directions to be lifted should it become clear that the land is not required for future rail development.

Details around the IRP’s support for the development of proposals for a mass transit system in West Yorkshire and the allocation of £100 million in development funds will also be discussed at the meeting. This includes requesting that the council is able to work with the West Yorkshire Combined Authority and the Department for Transport to understand how and when funding will be allocated and the specific scope of the funding contribution from the government.

Further clarity will also be requested over the implications of delivering the TransPennine Rail upgrade as the first phase of Northern Powerhouse Rail in Leeds Station, and potential disruption to the rail network and highways whilst upgrades are delivered.

Speaking ahead of the meeting, Councillor James Lewis, Leader of Leeds City Council, said:

“The Integrated Rail Plan has left significant uncertainty around both the capacity of Leeds Train Station and the wider rail network in Yorkshire along with the future of modern high-speed train services in Leeds.  With 50 per cent of passengers arriving late into Leeds during 2019 and only two miles of proposed new track in the whole of Yorkshire, there are important delivery questions around reliability and existing capacity of the rail network.

“As a council we will continue work in order to fully understand the implications of the Integrated Rail Plan on out city, and I have requested a full study be undertaken to better understand the detailed impact and further potential responses we could take.

“How the rail links between Leeds and Sheffield are improved is not addressed in the IRP, which is a major omission. The existing rail service between Leeds and Sheffield is one of the worst of any neighbouring large cities in Europe and must be radically improved. Therefore, it is imperative that the government work collaboratively with us to ensure that we can progress with confidence on improving connections between Yorkshire’s main economic centres.”

Councillor Helen Hayden, Leeds City Council’s executive member for infrastructure and climate, said:

“The Integrated Rail Plan was disappointing news for Leeds and leaves significant questions around the future of our region's rail network. It is crucial we get answers around safeguarded land, the future of the improved Leeds – Sheffield connection, Leeds Railway Station capacity and future plans for mass transit across West Yorkshire for the benefit of residents and businesses who are affected by this uncertainty.

"However, Leeds is a resilient city, and I am certain that we will be able to continue to thrive harnessing the confidence we have built through the welcoming of a wealth of major businesses and institutions in recent years. As a council we will continue to deliver for Leeds and will look to seek every opportunity to work collaboratively with the government around the future of our region's rail network."

To see the report the executive board will be discussing, go to https://bit.ly/31ADbwK