Plans for £100m link road to Leeds Bradford Airport scrapped

Plans for £100m link road to Leeds Bradford Airport scrapped with push for train station instead Gerald Jennings, West & North Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce, expressed disappointment that proposals for a new link road from the A65 to the A658 North West of Leeds will not be taken any further. Mr Jennings said that the new road would have helped improve access to Leeds Bradford Airport as well as the new North West Employment Hub. “Everyone agrees that surface access to the Airport needs improving and without the new road link the existing problems will only increase and whilst proposals for a connecting road from the A658 are welcome they will only partially access issues. Similarly the new parkway station will help, albeit that it will be located some distance from the airport itself, but as yet there is no date for when it might open. A shift to using public transport to get to and from the airport and employment hub is needed but the infrastructure needs to be in place as soon as possible to make this happen. Mr Jennings also mentioned that Leeds Bradford Airport is a major “gateway” in and out of the Leeds City Region and the proposed expansion and increase in routes is good for business, tourism and the economy as a whole. We know that encouraging new operators and flights relies on good access to and from the airport to support demand. In addition he mentioned that reducing aircraft emissions is an industry wide issue and not one that the Airport should tackle on its own. It should also be acknowledged that the airport is one of the largest employers in that part of the city and without suitable infrastructure investment its growth will be restricted with some potential users going to other airports which meet their needs. Finally Mr Jennings mentioned that the airport and the proposed employment hub are significant assets to the City Region and that support is needed to ensure that the existing access issues are tacked sooner rather than later.