BRADFORD Council's leader has hit out amid claims the Department for Transport failed to assess the long-term economic impact of Northern Powerhouse Rail (NPR). 

The Government was accused of betraying Bradford last year when an anticipated new high-speed rail station for the city, which would have put it on a through route between Leeds and Manchester, was absent from the long-awaited Integrated Rail Plan (IRP).

Instead, it was announced the Bradford to Leeds line would be electrified to reduce travel times, but at a recent meeting of West Yorkshire Combined Authority’s Transport Committee, members questioned how effective this work would actually be.

Independent analysis argued a new station would have benefited the local economy by £30bn in a decade and led to the creation of 27,000 new jobs. 

But there are now claims that such an analysis wasn't taken into consideration in light of the publication of the DfT's 'technical annexe' to the rail plan.

It says: "Given the early stage of scheme development, full analysis of
the wider economic impacts of the different options has not been completed, in particular to understand the dynamic impact of new infrastructure on land-use, employment and population growth in the areas served.

"The value for money assessment reflects a limited assessment of impacts on productivity based on reductions in journey times which bring businesses closer together."

Bradford Council leader Susan Hinchcliffe, said: "An independent study of the 34 largest cities outside of London has just proven what we have been saying for years: Bradford is Britain’s biggest levelling up opportunity.

"We’re the fifth largest metropolitan district in the country but the Bradford district has been left off the mainline rail network meaning our great people and brilliant businesses are left with second rate rail connections to Manchester, Leeds and London.

"We’re ambitious to level up and become Britain’s leading clean growth city district.

"Many of our plans - which have been years in the making - are based around creating the 21st century through train station our district deserves and the wider Northern Powerhouse Rail project, which the Prime Minister personally promised to deliver."

She added: “The Government has missed a golden opportunity to make an investment which would have repaid itself many times over by unlocking a regeneration zone in Bradford city centre which is three times larger than Canary Wharf, creates 27,000 new jobs and delivers £30bn in economic benefits for our district over a decade.

"Now we find out that the Department for Transport failed to do any detailed analysis of the long-term economic benefits of investing in the Bradford district and investing in the north.

“The failure to consider the economic benefits for the Bradford district means our economic recovery will be slower, despite setting-out a strong case for investment in our infrastructure.

"This Government has described levelling up as its central mission.
"How can levelling up be the central mission of this Government, if it's not even analysing the economic payback of where it invests money?

"We look forward to making our case to the Transport Select Committee's inquiry and asking the Government to look again at its deeply flawed Integrated Rail Plan, so that the proper economic analysis can be done, and we can get on with the job of levelling up the Bradford district and the rest of our great cities by giving the north the rail network it deserves."

Julian Jackson, Bradford Council's assistant director of planning, transportation and highways, added: “The new technical publication by the Department of Transport on the Integrated Rail Plan shows that a full economic assessment of the plans was not carried out

"The success of our country, our towns and cities and our transport network is reliant on people making evidence-based decisions. We now find out that the evidence base is missing when it comes to making the most crucial transport investment decisions in northern rail infrastructure for many generations.

“In Bradford, we have been clear on the benefit of investment in our rail infrastructure, including the creation of 27,000 new jobs and £30bn in economic benefits for our district over a decade.

“Bradford's independent economic analysis is essential to understanding the long-term impacts of investing in Bradford and North, something which has been overlooked by the DfT.

“In light of the technical publication by the DfT, the Government should reconsider the recommendations of the Integrated Rail Plan so that we can deliver the transport infrastructure we need to level up Bradford and to level up the North."

A DfT spokesperson said: "These criticisms are an oversimplification and ignore the many benefits our £96bn Integrated Rail Plan will deliver - better connectivity, greener travel and quicker improvements for passengers.

"This technical document - which is based on sources including TfN’s (Transport for the North) own work on Northern Powerhouse Rail - simply summarises how the options considered could impact things like capacity and connectivity, decarbonisation, affordability and value for money.”