Leeds trolleybus plans: Have your say at Hunslet consultation

On By leeds11
An artist's impression of the planned Leeds trolleybus in City Square
An artist’s impression of the planned Leeds trolleybus in City Square

Residents in Hunslet and across South Leeds will be able to attend two consultation events about ambitious plans for the new Leeds trolleybus scheme.

Costing £250m, the New Generation Transport (NGT) network will link park and ride sites at the north and south edge of Leeds with the city centre.

Leeds is the first UK city to get a modern trolleybus. It will be in place by 2018 subject to a public inquiry.

NGT’s Line One will run from Holt Park in north Leeds into and through Leeds city centre and on to Stourton in the south of the city near the M1/M621intersection. With around 3,000 Park & Ride spaces in total, the route runs along the A660 through Lawnswood, Headingley and Hyde Park. It passes the universities and the new Leeds Arena and crosses the city centre via Park Row, City Square and the Rail Station before heading south via Clarence (New) Dock and through the centre of Hunslet to Stourton.

Consultation events – where local residents can give feedback – include:

Hunslet Library

Time: 3.00 to 4.30pm Date: Thursday 7th February 2013 Place: Hunslet Library, Waterloo Road, LS10 2NS

Hunslet St Mary’s Primary School

Time: 5.30 to 7.00pm Date: Thursday 7th February 2013 Place: St Mary’s Primary School, School Hall, Church Street, LS10 2QY

Campaigners in the Hyde Park and Woodhouse area of Leeds are already proposing an alteration to the route around the Woodhouse Moor area.Check out one opponent’s view which was recently posted on Youtube:

An NGT spokesperson recently told Calendar:

“This is great news for our region, by speeding up journeys into and around Leeds, improving local connectivity and preventing the growth of congestion, NGT will provide a £160m per annum boost to the local economy and the creation of 4,000 permanent jobs.Transport is a key driver of productivity, and investment in local transport infrastructure is investment in the long-term economic future of the Leeds City Region.”

Earlier this week South Leeds Life reported how the new High Speed Rail line is earmarked to come through South Leeds. There are also plans for a new rail station to accommodate the trains. The new platforms will run from the junction of Jack Lane and Leathley Road.

What do you think of the trolleybus plans? Good or bad for the area or for Leeds in general? Have your say in the comments section below.

4 Replies to “Leeds trolleybus plans: Have your say at Hunslet consultation”

  1. Anything which improves public transport is to be welcomed particularly when the costs are not all paid for locally. The scheme won’t be operational until 2018 and obviously fare costs being affordable to all and encouraging car drivers out of their cars are critical issues. There is a capital funding gap which may have to be paid for by METRO and the Council and I assume the size of this will have some impact on fare costs.

  2. There should be public referendum for those who live and/or work in Leeds on the trolleybus scheme to decide if the voters approve of the trolleybus scheme. The groups opposed to the project should have an equal budget and resources level that is that the same amount of budget and resources from the same public funds being used by Metro and Leeds City Council to promote the trolleybus.

    Metro and Leeds City Council must publicly show what will happen to the existing and future bus services, traffic levels and all costs of the trolleybus scheme.

    Passengers in Leeds will not benefit by reduced bus services and limited stop services on the trolleybus and the trolleybus will only have maximum speed of 12MPH. The project will therefore not benefit public transport users.

    A scheme of upgrading heavy rail provision by greatly increasing the number and locations of train stations and branch lines with an underground system and orbital railway will improve the infrastructure and be able to support future development and increased demand. An improved rail network will reduce traffic on roads and improve roads by reducing the number of very heavy goods vehicles causing damage to Leeds roads.

  3. The trolleybus budget could be better spent on improving the local rail network instead by extending branch lines, building more train stations and stops. The link below shows what can be done with a similar budget.

    http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/south_of_scotland/8546096.stm

    If the HS2 project that is currently expected to cost £32 billion was cancelled the money could be better spent on giving large cities outside London major rail upgrades such as orbital railways and small underground networks and improved local branch lines and stations.

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