A £16 MILLION scheme to improve links between Bradford and Dewsbury will include a new “bus hub” and improvements to the Spen Valley Greenway.

The work to the A638 will also see new bus priority measures introduced along the length of the key route.

Members of West Yorkshire Combined Authority’s Investment Committee will be asked to provide £80,000 in funding to draw up a business case for the scheme when it meets online next Tuesday.

Highlights of the proposals include

- a major upgrade of the bus hub in Heckmondwike, currently little more than a collection of bus stops

- the widening of the Spen Valley Greenway, new lighting on the route and new links to neighbouring areas

- bus priority schemes along the route

- better pedestrian and cycle crossing points

The funding will come from the Government’s Transforming Cities Fund pot, which provides funding for schemes that will reduce car use, and boost public transport and “sustainable transport” such as walking and cycling.

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A report to the committee says works will increase the reliability of buses on the route, and encourage more people to use public transport to travel between Bradford and Dewsbury.

It adds: “The corridor suffers from poor air quality, significant congestion and accessibility challenges. This constrains access to employment and skills opportunities along the corridor and the opportunity for future growth.”

Referring to the planned Heckmondwike bus hub, the report says the work will create: “ A safer and more spacious waiting environment that will increase demand, reduce potential anti-social behaviour, and help to regenerate the district centre.”

On the work to improve the links between Dewsbury, Heckmondwike and Bradford, it adds: “Bus priority schemes will also be implemented along the corridor, enhancing bus reliability, together with new footways and crossings to help all prospective customers to access bus services.

“The package will also transform the continuity, safety and legibility of the cycle network through a set of cycling upgrades and new local links to Spen Valley Greenway to maximise its usage, together with improvements. This will help to create a cycling and walking network to support everyday journeys, increasing the uptake of cycling and walking delivering improved health and accessibility to employment and education opportunities for those without access to a car. “

A condition of the Transforming Cities funding is that all the projects, which includes this scheme as well as numerous infrastructure developments in Bradford city centre, have to be completed by March 2023.

Councillor Denise Jeffery, Chair of the Investment Committee and Leader of Wakefield Council, said: “We want to reduce car journeys across West Yorkshire by 3.5 per cent by 2027 and these important schemes will help us achieve this. From connecting people across our region, to reducing air pollution and congestion, and combatting physical inactivity and obesity, we know increasing the numbers of people choosing to travel by bike or on foot has a vital role to play in making West Yorkshire a great place to live and work.”