Green light for £22 million White Rose train station to overhaul Leeds rail network
A brand new train station in Leeds which could cost up to £22 million has been given the go ahead.
Leeds City Council has approved the decision for a new two-platform station to be built near the White Rose Shopping Centre in Beeston, Leeds.
It will be located on the Leeds to Dewsbury section of the main trans-Pennine rail line, and in addition to serving the White Rose office park and shopping centre , it would also connect communities including Cottingley, Churwell, Middleton and Milshaw.
Platforms at the station will accommodate six-carriage trains, with space to expand to accommodate those with eight carriages in the future.
At least two trains per hour will pass through the station in each direction.
Along with the new station, two three-storey station buildings will be built (one on either side of the railway line), as well as canopy walkways, cycle parking, disabled parking spaces and "pick up and drop off" points.
It is estimated that once the station is built, 340,000 trips will be made annually, and that it could support the creation of 10,000 jobs.
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£2.61 million of funding to develop the station was previously granted by West Yorkshire Combined Authority in November, with the project estimated to cost £22 million overall.
In the report approving the decision, a Leeds City Council planning officer said: "The proposal would provide an opportunity for the growth of a sustainable transport mode that would facilitate the growth of the local economy and local existing and future residential communities.
"The proposal seeks to develop a parcel of land with a railway station and associated infrastructure that will be integral to supporting the local communities’ needs and the long term economic growth of an area that is identified as a regeneration priority."
No confirmation as to what will happen with Cottingley train station - considered likely to close with the development of a White Rose station - has yet been announced.
Building will commence within the next three years, with February 2021 estimated to be the earliest start date.
