Stuart Andrew (MP for Pudsey, Horsforth and Aireborough) has today praised the Department for Transport for retaining £173m of funding so the right public transport scheme in Leeds can be developed as quickly as possible after the Trolleybus system was found to be unsuitable for development.
The Department for Transport has accepted the independent planning inspector’s recommendation not to give consent to the Leeds Trolleybus scheme. Stuart has said:
“This is a decision just about one specific scheme and I know that the Department for Transport is absolutely committed to improving transport in Leeds. They are delivering £6.4bn of investment in Yorkshire and Humberside, and have said that they will retain the £173m funding for the right transport scheme. People have spent a lot of time on the Trolleybus scheme, but it was found to not be in the public interest for several reasons, one of which being the exacerbation of existing congestion.
“The important thing is that this funding is being retained so that we can get the right transport scheme in place in Leeds, and I will continue to push for this including a rail link to the Airport as part of a more comprehensive solution.”