RESIDENTS living near the site of a proposed park and ride have urged decision makers to re-think where they develop the multi million pound scheme.

The £20m South Bradford park and ride scheme will see a car park for at least 500 vehicles built near the M606. A fleet of buses based at the site would then transport motorists down Manchester Road via newly created bus lanes.

The plans also include new cycle lanes on Manchester Road.

Funded by the Government's Transforming Cities Fund, the project went out to public consultation this Summer.

The consultation revealed that the likely site for the new park and ride would be on a field next to Odsal Stadium, with one access road likely being Rooley Park, although a full business case for the development has yet to be made by West Yorkshire Combined Authority or Bradford Council, the two organisations partnering on the scheme.

Residents living on roads near the site, including Northern View, have questioned the site of the plans park and ride car park. They say it will lead to up to 10 buses an hour passing through residential streets, creating one of the District's busiest bus routes almost overnight.

A petition objecting to the location of the site, and calling for a re-think of the scheme, was signed by almost 160 residents.

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Ben Petty, one of the residents to object to the plans, has questioned the viability of the project, questioning the figures on how much carbon the scheme will prevent being released, saying it seemed to rely on the idea that most people using the facility would be one to a car.

He said: "We just feel the upheaval and impact isn't worth it.

"We know they have been given money to spend, and they have to spend it a certain way, we accept that. And we agree with the green initiatives, but we're not sure why it has to fall on our doorstep.

"We don't think the scheme they have planned for here is viable.

"Parking in the city centre isn't that expensive."

He also said much of the traffic was from the city to the M606, something a park and ride from the M606 to the city centre would not address.

He added: "For us this will be so disruptive - every bus will be passing through these streets.

"I know a lot of people have homes on bus routes, but when you buy a house on a residential street that isn't on any bus route, you don't expect something like this to happen."

He said there has been little communication between the Council and residents, and much of it has been on Zoom rather than face to face meetings.

A Bradford Council spokesperson, said: “We are aware of this petition which is a response to information published on our website. We have held multiple engagement sessions where we listened to residents’ feedback.

“The South Bradford Park and Ride scheme is currently in the outline business case phase where detailed information relating to the project is compiled and design options are explored.

“The results of the recent public consultation and issues raised in the petition will be analysed and addressed as part of the ongoing scheme development.”