A leaked government review of the plans to build a tram network in Leeds has concluded that buses would be cheaper.
The Labour mayor of West Yorkshire Tracy Brabin had promised to get ‘spades in the ground’ by 2028, but the project has been pushed back into the later 2030s after the Cabinet Office and the Treasury carried out an audit in September.
The review by the National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority, revealed by The House magazine, claimed that the plans, which revive the Leeds Supertram scheme first published almost 30 years ago, were being driven by a 'political agenda rather than a recognised programmatic approach', and that ‘options appraisal for investment, robust project planning and risk management are critical ingredients for successful delivery and should not be compromised for unrealistic milestones’.
As a result, there was a risk of 'political embarrassment if work did not start as promised and that money could be wasted. The review's authors were also concerned that there had been a 'lack of unbiased thinking', and the case for trams rather buses had not been made out.
As things stand, the West Yorkshire Combined Authority has maintained that work will still begin in two years from now, but only on preparations rather than full construction.
The WYCA said: ‘Beginning preparatory construction works by 2028 has been an ambition for the combined authority for some time because the people of West Yorkshire have waited long enough for this investment.
‘NISTA's predecessor body, the National Infrastructure Commission, set out clearly in 2023 that Leeds needs a tram. A review at this stage of a project of this scale is completely normal, and the majority of its recommendations have already been addressed by the combined authority.’
The Department for Transport said the government ‘fully supports Mayor Brabin’s ambitions for a world-class mass transit system for West Yorkshire. We look forward to receiving West Yorkshire Combined Authority's initial business case for the project later this year.’
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