Plans have been developed by Leeds City Council for £270 million worth of transport improvements, which included a new parkway rail station to connect to the local airport.

After scrapping plans for a trolleybus project earlier in the year, the council has funds to spend.

The new transport strategy in Leeds comes after a major consultation process that highlighted a need for better bus and rail services.

The new parkway station would be built on the existing railway line between Leeds and Harrogate, while two further stations are also proposed to be built at Office Park and the White Rose Shopping Centre.

The new stations are set to be funded partly by the £173.5 million of Department of Transport funding secured after the decision not to proceed with the New Generation Transport (NGT) trolleybus in May, with the funds needing to be invested in public transport before the end of 2021.

Support from private sector stakeholders and from the West Yorkshire Combined Authority has increased the funding available for Leeds to more than £270 million.

Judith Blake, City Council leader, commented: “Through the transport conversation we have been given a clear message that people want improvements to be made to benefit all areas of the city as soon as possible, not in another 10 or 15 years’ time but now. I am very pleased to say that everything we are putting forward in this plan is deliverable in the short to medium term.

“Providing a connection by rail to the airport has long been an ambition for the city and this plan will deliver it in a cost-effective way, along with two other new stations at the White Rose Shopping Centre and Thorpe Park to help drive forward job creation, productivity and economic growth.”