Philip Davies MP slams Bradford Council over bypass study

Mr Davies has made repeated calls for the Shipley Eastern Relief Road, describing it as a “vital infrastructure project”.

The Department for Transport gave Bradford Council £300,000 for a feasibility study, but it has been dogged by delays.

In the long-awaited report, which was submitted to Government today, Bradford Council raised several concerns over the scheme.

Shipley town centre

A spokesperson said: “Of primary concern is the potential impact on existing businesses, as the preferred route would create a new road from Leeds Road by Carnegie Drive, through Dockfield Road and joining Otley Road at the junction of Green Lane.

“This would take it through a number of existing business premises as well as potential future employment sites off Dockfield Road.

“The road would also not open up new sites for development, causing concern about the economic benefits of the scheme.

“The Council also questions how such a road-building scheme would fit with the Government’s own declaration of a climate emergency and the target to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2050, while Bradford Council and the West Yorkshire Combined Authority are seeking to reach net zero by 2038.

“The proximity of the scheme to the Saltaire World Heritage Site buffer zone and the Leeds-Liverpool Canal Conservation Area is also something that would need further consideration.”

The Council said an outline business case would be required and its consultants, Arup, have estimated this would cost between £3.1 and £4.3m and it would be up to the Department for Transport to provide the money.

It added that any outline business case would need to consider the regeneration of Shipley town centre more broadly “and assess how any relief road would allow the town centre to be reconfigured, including altering Otley Road and reducing the severance between the train station and the town centre”.

The authority said this would “maximise regeneration opportunities in the town centre, building on the work of the Airedale masterplan and ensure any net increase in road capacity was limited”.

Councillor Alex Ross-Shaw, Bradford Council’s executive member for regeneration, planning and transport, said: “We have always said that one of the major issues with the idea of a relief road in this area is that it would need to go through a significant amount of employment land and unsurprisingly that is still the case.

Councillor Alex Ross-Shaw (Image: Newsquest)

“Policy has moved on drastically since the idea was last considered and we’re much more aware now of how schemes need to be more sustainable and take carbon emissions into account.

“If the Government were minded to progress the idea to the next stage of feasibility then we would argue that it needs to look more closely at Shipley town centre and use any new road capacity consider Otley Road and how we can reduce traffic there to better link the train station with the town centre.

“That might deliver a more well-rounded and sustainable scheme but as it stands we’d have real concerns about simply building a road through lots of employment sites with no wider regeneration benefits for Shipley.”

The Council will now discuss the report in detail with officials from the Department for Transport to assess the next steps.

Mr Davies told the Telegraph & Argus: "It is beyond scandalous that this feasibility study has only been completed now when it was due to be completed in the Autumn of 2019 and when Kersten England assured me in March this year I would have it by the end of the week.

“That alone perfectly sums up the utter incompetence of Bradford Council and its disinterest in the Shipley constituency.

"The report makes clear that not only would it alleviate the traffic congestion in Shipley (which is hardly good for the environment) it would deliver an economic benefit of over two and a half times its cost - and yet Bradford Council continues to do everything to block it.

“Either Bradford Council does not care about economic development in Shipley or they are just opposing it for pathetic party political reasons because it is a scheme I am championing.”

He said Bradford Council wants to “hold back economic development” and ramped up his calls for a breakaway from the authority.