Mayor Tracy Brabin hammers home need for new station in Bradford

The call was made following Saturday's announcement from Chancellor Rishi Sunak that £830 million in funding was being given to West Yorkshire towards a 'transport overhaul'.

The funding is part of a £7 billion package outside London being handed to metro mayors across the country. The investment will be confirmed at the Budget and spending review next week.

However, Mr Sunak refused to be drawn on whether a new rail station in Bradford is part of the plans.

The site earmarked is at St James' Wholesale Market, off Wakefield Road, and was first mooted in March when Bradford Council leader Susan Hinchliffe made a plea to the Government to commit investment to the project.

Ms Brabin appeared on Sky News earlier today to hammer home her message that though the funding was welcome, it was 'only part of the jigsaw'

She said in the Trevor Phillips on Sunday programme: "Yes, it is good news, and certainly I am pleased that government are chiming with us about our ambitions for our region but this is only one part of the jigsaw. We can't talk about levelling up if we don't talk about another rail line, the Northern Powerhouse Rail that will have that stop off at St James', in Bradford. Bradford is one of the youngest cities in the whole country. We want to connect those young people to jobs and opportunities. But of course HS2; we've had briefings and counter-briefings and rumours. We absolutely need to know that that is going to happen. We need that new station in Leeds. Leeds already is at capacity. We have the land allocated. We have the ambition for it. We are ready to deliver as Labour mayors and I am glad government see the opportunity and we are happy to work with them."

She added: "Here in West Yorkshire, we have had £174 per head spent on transport. In London, it’s over £500.

“We have less per head than any other community across the country. We have been underfunded for decades.

“Now is the opportunity for Government to be bold, to be ambitious and to come with us with our vision for West Yorkshire to have that London-style transport system that will really make us that powerhouse we can be.”

Mr Phillips later put her points across said the Chancellor during an interview: He said: "Tracy Brabin is quite specific whether it's this package of money, this weekend, or the three-year spending review, she wants a stop in Bradford and she wants HS2 to go to Leeds. In that going to happen?

Mr Sunak, however, would not be drawn into specifics saying: "That will be part of the Integrated Rail Plan which will spell out our plans to connect up all our towns and cities, not just across the north but also across the Midlands and it wouldn't be right for me to speculate on that now. But what I can tell you is people will see enormous improvements in journey times as we delivered what the Prime Minister said when he was first elected - an infrastructure revolution in this country."

Meanwhile, Jake Berry, who chairs the Northern Research Group of Conservative MPs, called for Prime Minister Boris Johnson to deliver on his promise of devolution.

Leaders in the North, while welcoming the investment, fear it could mean bigger projects such as HS2 or Northern Powerhouse Rail could be scaled back.

Henri Murison, director of the Northern Powerhouse Partnership lobbying group, told ITV: “The problem is that, without the full delivery of HS2, building from the North, starting from Leeds, down Sheffield, without Northern Powerhouse Rail and a new station in Bradford, the North of England will be short-changed.

“What we’ll see is levelling down rather than levelling up.”

On Sunday, Chancellor Rishi Sunak tempered expectations that leaders will get any answers soon, despite long-running speculation that the eastern leg of HS2, which was due to be built to Leeds, will be scrapped.