FAQs

The Bradley to Brighouse Greenway is being delivered in partnership with Kirklees Council and Calderdale Council and will be a 6.5km section of new greenway, providing a missing link in current cycling and walking infrastructure. Greenways are safe, quiet routes through parks, green spaces and lightly trafficked streets. They are designed for people of all ages and abilities and encourage healthier, more sustainable travel and lifestyle choices. They are ideal for seasoned commuters, novice cyclists, family groups and responsible unaccompanied children.

The Bradley to Brighouse Greenway will provide people who want to travel on foot or by bike with a new quiet and attractive route away from the A644 and Cooper Bridge roundabout, linking the communities of Bradley, Mirfield and Brighouse, as well providing a key missing link to the cycling and walking network in Calderdale and Kirklees.

The scheme will include improvements to existing footpaths, bridleways and quiet roads through Bradley and Brighouse, with a new section of route being built alongside the Calder Hebble Navigation canal towpath. New signage and safer junction and road crossings also feature among the proposals.

Once complete, the route will connect to the Birkby Bradley Greenway, the Calder Valley Greenway and the Huddersfield Broad Canal, with off-road routes to the Lower Spen Country Park and to Mirfield.

The Bradley to Brighouse Greenway is identified as part of Kirklees Core Walking and Cycling Network as identified in the Kirklees Local Plan, as well as contributing to the aims of the Calderdale Local Plan.

Proposed improvements include:

• Upgrade and improve 1.7km of existing bridleway through Bradley to allow cycling, improving crossing points and upgrading the Zebra Crossing.
• Introduce a new 0.7km surfaced path between Lower Quarry Road and Kirklees Lower Lock, on the Calder and Hebble Canal.
• Upgrade 1.4km of towpath between Kirklees Lower Lock and Anchor Pit Bridge, on the Calder and Hebble Canal.
• Introduce 1.7km of new cycle route, and improve the footways and crossing points between River Street and Brighouse Basin.
• Improve 1km of towpath between Brighouse Basin and Ganny, on the Calder and Hebble Canal, including new controlled crossings on the A641 Huddersfield Road (Sainsbury’s), and the A643 Owler Ings Road (Brighouse Market).

The scheme is being delivered by Kirklees Council, in partnership with Calderdale Council, through the West Yorkshire Combined Authority’s CityConnect programme. 

The Combined Authority works with local authorities and businesses across West Yorkshire and York to create economic growth through large and small scale infrastructure projects such as this.

The estimated costs of the Bradley to Brighouse Greenway project is £2.4m.

Bradley is severed by major highways the M62, A644, and A641, creating major obstacles to travelling to Brighouse from Bradley by cycle or on foot.

The communities of Ashbrow and Dalton in Kirklees, and Brighouse and Rastrick in Calderdale are physically separated from each other by the motorway and major road network. The existing network of local paths and local roads does not meet the expectations of high-quality links able to reconnect these communities and provide safe and attractive routes to schools, local facilities or simply an opportunity to relax and enjoy nature and green space.

This scheme will deliver a 6.5km high quality cycling and walking route between Bradley and Brighouse, crossing the Kirklees and Calderdale border, providing the long awaited ‘missing link’ in National Cycle Network Route 66, and connecting to Birkby Bradley Greenway, the Calder Valley Greenway and the Huddersfield Broad Canal, with off-road routes to the Lower Spen Country Park and to Mirfield.

The aims of the scheme are to:

• Offer the residents in the area the option of travelling more by bike or on foot, by providing quality and safe pedestrian and cycling routes linking local communities and facilities.
• Contribute to an overall improvement in air quality and environmental impacts in the district by enabling more people to use sustainable and active modes of travel such as walking and cycling.

Following approval of the full business case for this project we expect to begin work on this scheme in early 2021.

Detailed design will commence following this public engagement and is aimed to be completed in December 2020.

The CityConnect programme has received funding through the Department for Transport-funded Cycle City Ambition Grant (CCAG) and local match funding – a combined £60m package of works aimed at improving cycling infrastructure across West Yorkshire and York to make cycling and walking the natural choice for short journeys. The programme is delivered in partnership by the West Yorkshire Combined Authority, the five West Yorkshire councils and City of York Council.

To deliver a wide range of transport improvements the West Yorkshire Combined Authority is seeking £14.8 million funding through the West Yorkshire-plus Transport Fund, and the Leeds City Region Growth Deal. 

The Growth Deal is a £1 billion package of Government investment through the Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership (LEP), delivered by the West Yorkshire Combined Authority to accelerate growth and create jobs across Leeds City Region. 

For more information visit www.cyclecityconnect.co.uk.

This scheme has funding allocated to it specifically for enabling more people to cycle or walk as part of the CityConnect programme, therefore the funding will not be able to be spent on any other proposals or scheme. If the Combined Authority does not accept the business case, then the scheme cannot go ahead and the money put aside for this project will be reallocated elsewhere in the CityConnect programme.

Through the CityConnect programme, the West Yorkshire Combined Authority works in partnership with local authorities to deliver new cycling and walking routes and improving existing infrastructure. It also offers a range of free services, including free adult cycle training and support for businesses, schools and grassroots initiatives to boost the number of people travelling by bike or on foot.

For more information visit www.cyclecityconnect.co.uk.

The West Yorkshire Combined Authority works in partnership with local councils and businesses to ensure that everyone in our region benefits from a strong, successful economy and a modern, accessible transport network. By championing the region’s interests nationally and internationally, we secure investment to deliver better transport and housing, help businesses to grow and create jobs. To find out more visit: www.westyorks-ca.gov.uk .

We welcome the opinions and feedback of anyone. Whether you live or work in the area or travel through it, your views, opinions and insights are valuable to us to shape our project. 

Please share the link www.yourvoice.westyorks-ca.gov.uk/b2bg 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 have the opportunity to provide an individual response, should they wish to do so.

The engagement is open from Wednesday 16 September to Wednesday 28 October 2020.

You can take part by

• Completing our survey here: www.yourvoice.westyorks-ca.gov.uk/b2bg
• Asking a question in the question and answer (Q&A) section of the page
• Sending us an email at cityconnect@westyorks-ca.gov.uk
• Writing to us to our free post address (no need for a stamp): FREEPOST Consultation Team (WYCA)*

*Please note that, due to the COVID-19 crisis, the majority of our staff are working from home and therefore there will be significant delays in receiving any postal contributions. If you can, please contact us using another method to ensure a quick response.

Your comments will help inform the development of our plans and provide an opportunity to identify any issues that we are not aware of.

Updates will be provided on our website and to those who have registered to follow the project via www.yourvoice.westyorks-ca.gov.uk/b2bg.