The anticipated cost of the New Station Street improvements is £2.12 million. Funding has already been secured from the West Yorkshire plus Transport Fund programme.
The scheme does not involve changing the services serving New Station Street, though the bus stops will be improved on New Station Street and services may be reallocated between stops. There will be short term disruption to the services on New Station Street while the works are underway (see below).
Will buses continue to run along New Station Street during the works?
No. New Station Street buses will be temporarily diverted from Monday 28th January (midnight on Sunday 27th January) to facilitate the enabling works. Services will run via Mill Hill and Bishopgate Street and then follow their normal route along Wellington Street, then either Wellington Street, Quebec Street or Aire Street depending on the service.
Why isn’t New Station Street being closed to buses and taxis?
Removing bus services from New Station Street would result in significant disruption and passengers having to walk greater distances to catch their bus. Removing taxis from New Station Street would have significant knock on effects across the rest of the city centre.
The development of the HS2 Leeds Rail Station, will include the closure of City Square and New Station Street. The bus stops and services around the city centre will be rationalised to fit in with these proposals.
Access for cycles and the cycle hub will be unaffected by the scheme, though there may be short term disruption to access to New Station Street by cycle.
The current proposals are HS2 will approach Leeds from the south and stop at a station abutting the current station. As part of the Leeds Integrated Station Masterplan the HS2 station will be integrated into the existing station and a common concourse will be created. It is expected that the first HS2 trains from Leeds will run in 2033.
What about the Leeds Integrated Station Masterplan?
At the same time that additional facilities for HS2 are developed, it is expected that they will be integrated into a redeveloped Leeds Station as proposed in the Leeds Integrated Station Masterplan (LISM). The improvements to New Station Street will be delivered before LISM which is likely to involve the complete closure of New Station Street to traffic. Liaison between the schemes will take place to ensure that duplication of work is minimised and that as much as possible of the New Station Street improvement scheme is reused in the LISM scheme.
Leeds City Council have plans to redevelop City Square as part of their City Centre Package scheme. Liaison is taking place to ensure that the New Station Street improvements are compatible with the Council’s plans for City Square.
