Bradford Council in partnership with the West Yorkshire Combined Authority is asking for feedback on plans for a bridge over the A629 connecting the towns of Steeton and Silsden.
The walking and cycling improvements scheme, which is being called Steeton and Silsden Connect, aims to make it easier for people to walk and cycle between the two towns, by providing a safer way to cross the busy A629 dual carriageway.
The council and the Combined Authority are now asking for feedback on the next steps of the bridge project.
A short questionnaire is now available on the Combined Authority’s Your Voice website for people to give their feedback. This will be open until 11.59pm on Sunday 16 February.
There will also be two drop-in sessions. The session in Silsden will be at the Hive Community Centre on Saturday 1 February between 10am and 2pm. The session in Steeton will be at the Steeton Hub on Wednesday 5 February between 10am and 2pm.
A webinar will also be held on Tuesday 11 February from 6pm to 7pm.
The project has been under development for a number of years with the latest round of consultation taking place in 2020, when a bridge was selected as the preferred option.
Since this consultation new requirements were introduced by the Government, meaning that in order to secure the funding for the bridge, the whole scheme had to be reviewed.
The outcome of this review highlighted that some key elements of the design had to be modified to make it more accessible for users. The modifications required by the review included, more user-friendly gradient on the approaches to the bridge, the inclusion of resting points and increased width of the bridge to enable adequate separation of pedestrians and cyclists.
Further surveys and in-depth ground condition investigations have also now been undertaken and have led to a revision in the design of the foundations to accommodate the new bridge design.
An Outline Business Case and an agreement for a further £2.7million for project development has been approved by the Combined Authority. This concludes this stage of the assurance process, and the first phase of the scheme can now move forward.
Phase 1 aims to deliver a new pedestrian and cycle bridge which complies with the latest guidance on accessibility and a new pedestrian and cycle crossing on Station Road.
There will also be over 280 meters of segregated walking and cycling route and over 130m of shared walking and cycling route created to improve the safety of pedestrians and cyclists when accessing the new bridge.
The feedback from the online questionnaire, the two drop-in sessions and the webinar will be used to further shape and refine the scheme before the planning application and full business case are submitted.
A full planning application for the bridge will be submitted in Spring 2025. The Project Team will seek to appoint a construction contractor to work with the design team to prepare the final full business case application for Phase 1 for the Combined Authority’s approval in early 2026, with the bridge expected to be open for use by Spring 2027.
Opportunities for further improvements have also been identified to enhance the pedestrian and cycle provision within both Steeton and Silsden beyond the A629 roundabout. This will form Phase 2 of the scheme, and a further business case would be needed.
Councillor Alex Ross-Shaw, Bradford Council’s Executive Member for Regeneration, Planning and Transport said:
“We know there has been a long-standing ambition locally to make this crossing safer and I’m really pleased we’re now able to move this project to the next stage. The Steeton and Silsden Connect scheme aims to build a bridge over this dual carriageway, providing a much safer way for people to get between the two towns, as well as making it easier and safer to access the railway station from Silsden.
“I’d encourage people to find out more about the improvements planned, either by coming along to one of the drop-in sessions or the webinar or visiting the Your Voice website to give their feedback.”
This scheme, subject to the development of a successful business case, will be funded from City Region Sustainable Transport Settlements (CRSTS) Fund. The £830,000,000 CRSTS fund was awarded to the Combined Authority on 1 April 2022 and was made possible due to the devolution arrangements upon becoming a Mayoral Combined Authority in May 2021.
Information about the plans for the Steeton and Silsden Connect scheme is available on the Your Voice website where people can also give their feedback by completing a shot questionnaire: www.yourvoice.westyorks-ca.gov.uk/steeton-silsden-bridge
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