FAQs

The scheme is being funded through a combination of developer contributions and the West Yorkshire plus Transport Fund (WY+TF), with additional development funding from Transforming Cities Fund (TCF). The WY+TF is part of the Leeds City Region Growth Deal, which is a £1 billion-plus deal between the Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership (LEP) and Government to help transform the City Region economy. The TCF is a major new programme of transport infrastructure investment in the Leeds City Region, with £317m secured from the Department for Transport as part of West Yorkshire’s devolution deal.

Calderdale Council is responsible for scheme delivery, with support from Bradford and Kirklees Councils. The councils are working in partnership with the West Yorkshire Combined Authority (WYCA). WYCA works with local authorities and businesses across West Yorkshire and York to create economic growth through infrastructure projects such as this.

The route stretches from Odsal in Bradford, through Wyke, Bailiff Bridge, Brighouse and Fartown down to Huddersfield Ring Road, and we have also looked at sections of the A644 and A643 in the vicinity of Brighouse town centre.

The strategic objectives of the scheme are:

1. Prioritise walking, wheeling, cycling, bus and rail
2. Unlock land for employment and sustainable housing growth
3. Improve access to non-car travel choices, and to existing greenways and green space
4. Deliver a more efficient and safer transport network for all
5. Reduce the adverse impacts of private car and freight use on the environment and public health
6. Meet the challenges of the climate emergency
7. Ensure alignment and integration with other projects and initiatives

A range of schemes to deliver a more efficient transport network, with better provision for walking, wheeling, cycling, bus and rail to make sure communities are better connected, safety is improved and better-quality places are created.

These schemes include: new and improved cycling facilities, new and improved crossings, redesigned junctions, new river crossings in Brighouse, new bus lanes and bus priority on Brighouse ring road, improvements to community areas, enhanced landscaping and improved access to existing greenways and greenspace.

Outline plans can be found in the consultation materials.

The scheme is currently under development. Subject to funding approval and given the size and complexity of the proposed works the improvements may be introduced in phases but it is expected that all works will be completed by 2025.

The scheme aims to reduce delays at certain junctions where possible and provide new highway links where necessary. However, the scheme’s primary focus is to provide a better range of transport choices to support greater levels of walking, wheeling, cycling and travel by public transport thereby reducing the overall impact of journeys on the road network arising from new development.

This scheme has close relationships with the following other schemes:

• Brighouse Town Investment Plan being led by Calderdale Council – allocated £19.1m of funding from the Government’s Towns Fund in June 2021
• Brighouse Flood Alleviation Scheme being led by the Environment Agency
• City Connect: Bradley to Brighouse Greenway being led by Kirklees Council
• The A62/A644 ‘Cooper Bridge’ scheme being led by Kirklees Council which went out to consultation on 7^th June
• Transforming Cities Fund including proposals for a new park and ride near Odsal being led by Bradford Council
• Clifton Enterprise Zone being led by Calderdale Council
• Proposed new housing development areas at Bradley, Thornhills and Woodhouse

New and upgraded pedestrian crossings will be provided at key locations along the route. This scheme aims to provide betterment to safety and accessibility for all users through measures such as new crossings, narrowing of side road junctions, tactile paving to help people with visual impairments, and footway widening in certain locations.  

Additionally, scheme options include bus priority measures aiming to improve bus journey times and reliability at locations along the corridor, and parts of the proposed scheme aim to provide new/improved cycle facilities for trips along the A641 and connectivity to the A641.

All schemes have been designed in line with the LTN1/20 guidance.

Certain design options within the scheme may impact on local parking on the highway along certain stretches of the A641. Several of the designs could be progressed with different timing arrangements when parking is permitted, for example, in the off-peak. As plans are developed in response to this consultation, the team will engage and consult with local residents and businesses on any proposed changes.

The phasing of roadworks on the public highway still needs to be planned. Nearer the time of construction, local residents and businesses will be consulted with and provided with more detail about what will happen and where, but overall disruption will be kept to a minimum.

The detail of the roadworks and timings of this will be determined closer to the time of construction. Roadworks would only be carried out at night in limited circumstances to meet traffic operational requirements and residents would be informed well in advance.

In certain circumstances, compensation can be paid for loss of amenity and value of property through Part 1 of the Land Compensation Act 1973. Claims through this Act are valid after 12 months of the opening of the scheme. Compensation is payable if it can be demonstrated that the highway works have negatively affected the value of land and buildings

The scheme is currently under development and is going through design review and consultation stages, with a preferred scheme to be identified by Outline Business Case stage. There are several stages of business case approval from WYCA to fulfil local assurance requirements prior to construction. Due to the size and complexity of the proposed works the improvements may be introduced in phases. The current projection for a start on construction of the scheme is in late 2023 or early 2024.

No, the plans show the outline designs for the area. The interventions proposed aim to make the area better for people walking, wheeling and cycling, improve reliability of bus services and improve safety and movement at key junctions. At present West Yorkshire Combined Authority has allocated funding of £75.5 million to the scheme through the West Yorkshire Plus Transport Fund, with additional development funding from the Transforming Cities Fund, but the proposals in this consultation exceed that funding. The schemes that are taken forward, and the designs of these schemes, will be based on your feedback. This means your views are crucial to ensure that the schemes taken forward meet the needs of the community. We will take on board comments on the proposed concepts and use this to inform the final proposed scheme and the next design stage before offering the public and stakeholders the opportunity to comment again.

Funding for the early phase of the scheme was secured through WYCA to allow Calderdale Council to start developing and promoting the scheme. A Strategic Outline Case was submitted for the project in February 2020 and work is currently being undertaken to develop designs as part of the Outline Business Case including design development which will be submitted to WYCA once complete.

We know from responses to previous engagements and consultations, including the valuable feedback received last summer from the Brighouse Town Centre Masterplan, WYCA’s Safe Streets for walking and cycling and the A641 Commonplace engagement, that there are a number of transport related issues in this area. These include congestion (especially around Brighouse), unreliable journey times for vehicles including buses, poor air quality, low quality public realm and the lack of safe and attractive facilities for people choosing to walk or cycle.

Schemes have been developed to deliver a more efficient transport network and prioritise walking, wheeling, cycling and public transport in and around Brighouse to reduce carbon emissions and the impact of transport on the environment. The project also seeks to remove the barriers to movement caused by busy roads, provide better connections between communities, improve safety, create quality places, and enhance connectivity to and by public transport. The scheme aims to provide better access to jobs, education and services, and promote improvements in public health and carbon reduction.

Subject to approval from WYCA, the proposed package of schemes will be progressed to a greater level of design detail and further engagement and consultation will take place in 2022 and 2023.

This consultation will help to inform which proposals form the final proposed £75.5 million scheme. There will be further refinements to the proposals following traffic modelling, design reviews and analysis of public consultation results to form the final package of measures. Decisions about the scheme will be made through the Assurance Process of WYCA. At each stage, recommendations on the scheme are made by an officer-based appraisal team to the relevant committee(s) of elected members.

The decision documents are published on both Calderdale Council and WYCA’s website.

For Calderdale, see: calderdalenextchapter.co.uk/projects/a641-bradford-brighouse-huddersfield [external link - opens in new window]

For WYCA, see: www.westyorks-ca.gov.uk/projects/west-yorkshire-plus-transport-fund/a641-bradford-huddersfield-corridor/ [external link - opens in new window]

The consultation period will take place from 19 July to 15 August 2021. Members of the public can have their say via www.yourvoice.westyorks-ca.gov.uk/a641. We are keen to hear from local residents, businesses and other road users.  

We welcome the opinions and feedback of all members of the public. Whether you travel by public transport, walk, wheel, drive, or cycle, are a resident, business owner, or just travel through the area, your views, opinions and insight are valuable to us to shape the project. Please share the link (www.yourvoice.westyorks-ca.gov.uk/a641) with anyone you think would be interested in taking part. If you intend to submit a joint response on behalf of a group/organisation, please share the link with your colleagues/members so they can provide a response, should they wish to do so.

Leaflets and posters are being distributed in the area around the scheme. Paper copies of the consultation documents are available upon request. Anyone who cannot access the survey online and needs to request a paper copy should contact MetroLine on 0113 245 7676 or email us at: yourvoice@westyorks-ca.gov.uk 

To protect local people and our staff we have decided to not hold drop in events or do other face to face consultation at this time, so this consultation will mainly be digital. We are taking steps to make sure people in the local community know about the consultation and can have their say by putting up posters, posting leaflets and by providing information to local ward councillors. There will be another opportunity for people to have their say next year, when we hope we will be able to do more face to face engagement.

You can register to follow the project and have your say in any future consultations at www.yourvoice.westyorks-ca.gov.uk/a641. Updates on project progress will also be provided via the WYCA’s and local councils’ webpages and via press articles. You can also contact your Local Ward Councillors. We will publish a report on the consultation response on this website.

We want to understand what local people think about our proposals for improvements to the A641 area. Your feedback will be used by the project team to develop detailed plans for improvements on the A641 and surrounding neighbourhoods. There will be a further consultation on detailed plans in 2022.