West Yorkshire mass transit: government agrees to next tranche of funding beyond 2032

This will provide a huge boost to mayor Tracy Brabin, after a controversial review into the project, which remains secret, caused the completion date to be delayed.

The announcement was made in the Government’s Northern Growth Strategy, which has accompanied the Northern Powerhouse Rail plans.

Part of this, it said is a “transformative £10.4bn investment in intracity transport is expanding mass transit systems and better connecting cities and towns across the major northern conurbations”.

“This includes … the first phase of a mass transit system for West Yorkshire, finally bringing a mass transit solution to the largest city region in Western Europe without a light rail or metro system.

“The government is already funding delivery of the first phase of a mass transit system for West Yorkshire through Transport for City Regions (TCRs).

“Subject to business case approval, the government will continue to support delivery through future rounds of TCRs, marking a new commitment to provide the investment needed to transform regional connectivity.”

In last year’s Spending Review, Chancellor Rachel Reeves set out TCR funding up until 2032, which included £2.1bn for Ms Brabin.

The vast majority of this is expected to go towards the prospective tram network, which will connect Leeds and Bradford, while the West Yorkshire Combined Authority is required to raise an additional £500m.

Ms Brabin has pledged to get spades in the ground by 2028, however the two first routes - one of which will go from Leeds Station to the White Rose Centre via Elland Road - will not be completed until the late 2030s.

Now the Government has committed to funding the majority of the project.

A Department for Transport spokesperson told The Yorkshire Post: “We are already funding the first phase through their Transport for City Regions allocation, and we recently committed to funding its delivery beyond this tranche.”

Ms Brabin said: “I welcome the Chancellor's new commitment, which provides us with the certainty we need to deliver on our plans to build a better-connected West Yorkshire with a new Mass Transit network at its heart.

“Government is backing us to deliver - we’ll continue working in lockstep with them as we push ahead with our plans and get spades in the ground by 2028.”

Now, Ms Brabin has to produce a business case to convince the DfT that it’s worth investing in trams.

She certainly has Rachel Reeves onside, who recently told this paper: “There will be trams. Mass transit does not mean a few better buses, mass transit means a tram network.”

However, the DfT is requiring WYCA to put together a business case for a new bus network as well as a tram system, raising the prospect that Ms Brabin could be overruled by Whitehall.

On top of this, the combined authority has already had to change its process, following a critical review from the National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority (Nista).

Previously WYCA was attempting to work on the business case and the planning process at the same time to speed up the timeframe, however the review advised it to focus on the former first.

This caused the completion date to be delayed and created intense speculation, after this paper revealed the contents of the review will be kept secret.