We have received this today which may be of interest to you.

An update on the Connecting Leeds Corn Exchange scheme

Here’s what’s coming up in the next few months…

An artist impression of how the area around the Corn Exchange might look once complete We’re writing to update you about work happening around the Corn Exchange and surrounding streets. This is part of the wider city centre improvements that will transform travel across the city. New Market Street The footpath will be paved on the east side (outside Boris & Co) by the end of March 2021. The paving up to Central Road and Kirkgate will be complete by the end of May. There will be wide temporary walkways in place during this work. Most of the bus shelters on the west side of New Market Street will be removed by May and the new bus stops will be installed by July 2021. The paving work in this area will start at the end of March and will be completed by July 2021. Lower Briggate We’re prioritising certain areas of work on Lower Briggate in preparation for the easing of lockdown restrictions on 12 April. The work here involves footpath renewal and footpath widening outside Viaduct, Fibre, Popworld and the Stone Roses bar. The work in these areas will be completed by the beginning of April. We’ll set up a new work zone further down Lower Briggate at the end of March. The work here also involves footpath renewal and footpath widening and we’ll continue working in this area for six to eight weeks. Work will then continue on Lower Briggate until autumn 2021. Upper Call Lane Upper Call Lane will close permanently up to Crown Street junction in May. Traffic will continue to run on New Market Street and will now be permitted to turn right onto Kirkgate. The current bus stops on Upper Call Lane will be closed, and their services will be re-routed on the bus stops on Lower Briggate and Duncan Street. The work in this area involves footpath widening outside the Corn Exchange, with new seating areas and trees being planted. This work will be completed by January 2022. Vicar Lane We’ll start paving the footpath on Vicar Lane between Greggs and Fish Street on 22 March. This work will take around six weeks to complete. There will be wide temporary walkways in place during this work. The paving between The Hip Store and Kwik Tan will be complete by mid-March. We’ll set up a new work zone on the market side of Vicar Lane at the beginning of April. The work here involves widening and replacing the footpath with new paving slabs and will be complete by August 2021. There will be wide temporary walkways in place during this work. This work will take slightly longer as there are two trees being planted.  Kirkgate Work will start on Kirkgate in April 2021 on the northern side (outside Leeds Accommodation Bureau). This work involves footpath renewal and footpath widening. We’d like to thank you for your patience and co-operation while we carry out this work. Please be assured we’ll work hard to ensure work is done safely and as quickly as possible. If you have any questions or to find out more about the scheme, please email a member of the project team at connectingleeds@leeds.gov.uk

Please find below and attached information regarding consultation on the provision of school transport received from Director of Transport Services via Cllr Barry Anderson, which may be of interest to you. All details on how to participate in the consultation are below and it runs until 15^th March.

The West Yorkshire Combined Authority organises and subsidises a range of school bus services for around 25,000 pupils and students across West Yorkshire. These services are provided where suitable public transport services are not available.

The  Combined Authority’s Transport Committee approved a set of guidelines in 2014, to determine whether a subsidised school bus service should be provided. These assume that pupils and students of secondary school age are able to use public transport where this is available.

Note – For the avoidance of doubt, these guidelines are separate and distinct from local council School Transport Policies, which cover eligibility for assistance with transport costs (usually free travel) and are based on statutory walking distances as set out in the Education Act (2002).

Given ongoing pressure to reduce local authority budgets, the Combined Authority must ensure that limited public funds are targeted where it is most needed. To ensure this, the Combined Authority’s Transport Committee approved the development of and engagement on revised guidelines in May 2018. Combined Authority officers have worked closely with their Council Children’s Services counterparts in revising these guidelines.

As a result, we are planning to revise the guidelines on the provision of subsidised school bus services from 1 July 2019 and are seeking the views of service users and other interested parties before doing so. The new guidelines would come into effect at the start of the new school year – 1 September 2019.

A copy of the proposed new guidelines is attached for your information.

The  changes are seeking to ensure funding is directed to assist journeys by under 16s to local schools for which a regular bus service is not available and where walking or cycling is unlikely to be a feasible option for most pupils, The proposed changes are summarised as follows;

·         Post-16 – Subsidised school bus services will not normally be provided for young people in the 16-18 age group. In practice, many students in this age group do not travel at fixed times to and from school, and are usually confident public transport users.

·         Distance from school – Subsidised school bus services will not normally be provided where pupils are attending a school that is more than four miles (6.5 km) from their home address. It will be assumed in these cases that this is a matter of parental preference.
We have developed an online map, which shows the area around schools that would normally be served. It is expected that pupils living outside this area would be provided transport on a commercial basis (see below) or would have longer public transport journeys.  Discretion will be applied where schools are located in rural or semi-rural areas or where services serve rural or semi-rural communities.

·         Requests to serve new areas – Subsidised school bus services will not normally be introduced where currently no public transport link exists. As information on school services is publicly available, it will be assumed that parents have chosen a school in the knowledge that there is no direct public transport link and already have alternative transport arrangements in place.

·         Walking or cycling to school – Subsidised school bus services will not normally be provided for pupils who live less than 1.5 miles (2.4km) (30 minute walk) from their school. Pupils who live within this distance may be expected to walk or cycle to and from school. The online schools map also provides an indication of acceptable walking distances for each school.

·         Commercial school bus services – Subsidised school bus services may be withdrawn where commercial bus operators are willing to provide a service on the basis that parents meet the whole cost of the service (typically £500-£700 per child per year). It is expected that this would only apply to current services that fall outside of the new criteria.

·         Selective schools – Subsidised school bus services will not normally be provided where the school admissions policy is based on academic selection. It is expected that these would be replaced by commercial services as described above.

·         Value for money – Services will be considered for withdrawal or lower-cost alternatives sought where the direct subsidy per passenger trip exceeds £1.50. This typically is the cost for 50 or more regular users of a double deck service. This will replace the current criteria (£3 per mile) as it provides a more realistic measure of efficiency across different vehicle types.

Please note that, in applying the new guidelines, the Combined Authority would take all aspects affecting the journey from home to school into account.

A list of existing services that would be reviewed under the new guidelines is attached Draft Guidelines and Service List Final 30 January 2019

Please note that local councils fund some schools’ services because they meet (or were first introduced to meet) the needs of pupils who qualify for free travel under the local councils’ policies. A list of these services is also attached. Unless local council funding is withdrawn, these services would not be affected without prior agreement with the relevant local council.

If you would like to comment on the changes to the guidelines, please email yourvoice@westyorks-ca.gov.uk.

Schools, parents, pupils and others are invited to complete a questionnaire hosted on the Combined Authority’s consultation and engagement website, yourvoice.com.

Schools, parents, pupils and other interested parties are able to have their say on the proposals until 15 March. Depending on the feedback received, the guidelines may be revised, subject the availability of funding. Any new guidelines (reflecting feedback received) will come into effect from 1 July 2019, with the new services running from 1 September.

Director, Transport Services

West Yorkshire Combined Authority | Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership (the LEP)Wellington House | 40-50 Wellington Street | Leeds | LS1 2DE

www.westyorks-ca.gov.uk | www.the-lep.com

Please find attached and below some information received from City Development via Cllr Barry Anderson that may be of interest to you.

We will be shortly commencing the next phase of consultation on the Leeds Bradford Airport Transport Links. The consultation will launch on the 18th Feb at which time the website and the opportunity to provide feedback will be available.

Further to our previous post, we received this update today

Dear All

I am writing to inform you that the sewer repair on Weetwood Lane has been completed ahead of schedule and the road is now fully reopened.

Kind Regards

Area Network Manager – Leeds North

Network Management
Highways Services
Leeds City Council