Written evidence from West Yorkshire Combined Authority (WYCA) (STA0050)

  1. Introduction

1.1                              This submission has been prepared by West Yorkshire Combined Authority (WYCA) and includes views from the Leeds City Region LEP and the West Yorkshire Councils.

1.2                              Leeds Bradford Airport (LBA) is the international gateway for much of the Leeds City Region and much of neighbouring North Yorkshire and as such, surface access of an appropriate quality and capacity is viewed as being critical locally.  This submission primarily focusses on the role of LBA in the context of the Select Committee lines of enquiry, however it should be noted that more air passengers collectively travel to airports other than LBA, including to Manchester which makes up over half of air travel ‘leakage’ from the Yorkshire and Humber Region.  Whilst the decision by air passengers as which airport to use is driven to an extent by the availability of destinations and flight times, appropriate quality and capacity infrastructure to access airports such as Manchester will continue to be important to the Leeds City Region.

1.3                              LBA is a huge asset for the Leeds City Region. It is one of the UK’s fastest growing airports, supporting over 2,600 jobs and contributing in excess of £100m to the city region economy. The airport is currently used by 3.3m passengers per year and the Department for Transport (DfT) has forecast that there is the potential to increase this to 7.1m by 2030 and to above 9 million passengers per year by 2050. There is the potential to expand the airport’s route network to open up new international connections, supporting international trade and creating new jobs.

1.4                              Successful airports boost the economic competitiveness of their cities and city regions. They provide access for businesses to international markets, are critical to attracting inward investment and tourism, and are also major economic and employment hubs in their own right.

1.5                              Tourism is important to the economic development and growth for the Leeds City Region. By way of examples;

1.6                              The continued development and growth of LBA is essential to the City Region in maintaining strong connections which enable tourism, grows the visitor economy and acts as a global gateway for business and educational institutions.

1.7                              A growing airport will help continue to deliver sustainable economic growth. The City Region Districts recognise the requirement for LBA to work in partnership with them and local communities to ensure that economic opportunities are realised, and the risks of adverse consequences of the airport’s growth are managed and mitigated.

1.8                              LBA will play an important part in building the Leeds City Region’s future economy and the airport’s contribution to the regional economy is set to grow as the airport expands.

  1. Surface Access Considerations

2.1                              Good connectivity is essential to the accessibility of LBA for both outward UK travellers and inbound international travellers. However, these two groups have potentially different needs and expectations from the transport provision; with one group being currently dominated by car based travel and the other placing greater importance on good public transport and taxi provision.

2.2                              Strategic road access to the airport, as shown in Figure 1, is from the A658 Bradford – Harrogate – A1(M) route with access from Leeds city centre being via the A65 and A660 routes which the airport relies upon for access to the M1 (and thence M62 East) in Leeds city centre and M606 for the M62 West in Bradford and other West Yorkshire Districts.

Figure 1: LBA Highway Access Links

 

2.3                              There is currently no direct access to the rail network from the airport, which in turn means that there is no direct link from Leeds or Bradford (3rd and 6th respectively in terms of England’s largest cities); the nearest stations are Horsforth on the Harrogate line and Guiseley on the Wharfedale line, which both have limited connectivity to the airport by public transport. The construction of a new station at Apperley Bridge due to be operational by late 2015 will provide a further rail opportunity, albeit located around 4 miles from LBA.

2.4                              Partly as a consequence of the present access arrangements, travel mode to the airport is predominantly by car, with around 60.5% arriving directly by this mode and a further 12% via off-site car parks and minibus; 6% by service bus; 10% by coach; and 11.5% by hackney carriage or private hire. This is not untypical of similar midsized UK airports without rail links.

2.5                              In terms of surface access, the aspiration for a new link road has existed for some years and is identified in the Leeds LDF Core Strategy and the current surface access strategy. Access to LBA has also been identified as a priority for growth in the Bradford replacement UDP and emerging Core Strategy.  The LBA ‘economic hub’ as set out in the Leeds LDF also aligns with the NE Bradford growth corridor.

2.6                              The lack of dedicated public transport surface access infrastructure has been a theme of long term planning for the airport since it was first identified in the initial surface access strategy and Masterplan in 2000.  A direct rail (or other) fixed link to the airport remains a strong ambition, and should link to both Leeds and Bradford city centres, and other West Yorkshire conurbations through the wider rail network.

2.7                              Working towards this, through the Growth Deal, the West Yorkshire+ Transport Fund (WY+TF) investment plan approved by the West Yorkshire councils, City of York Council and WYCA in Spring 2013 included provision for the progression of an Airport link road in the core programme whilst the future development of proposals for a rail linkage were identified as part of longer term transformational programme. Both schemes are expected to contribute to the Fund’s wider remit for supporting improved connectivity for economic growth and employment in the City Region.

2.8                              Work has now commenced to investigate the detailed investment case and justification for an airport link road. This work will also identify the range of options available for improving road access and set out the initial options for the routing of a link road with a view to moving towards more formal public consultation shortly.  The City Region Councils view improved highway connections to LBA as vital.  Kirklees have expressed the view that these enhancements need to form part of a wider ambition to link all the way through to the M62.

2.9                              The potential rail/fixed link to the airport is the final part of the surface access strategy and is part of the longer term ambition for enhanced connectivity and transport integration at the airport site. WYCA is currently taking forward this aspect of the strategy and in December, 2014 the DfT published its ‘Connectivity Study: Option Assessment Report’ of the airport. This recognised the rail link as a longer term aspiration as opposed to the relatively short / medium term delivery of the link road which is considered to have the greatest benefit on the area.

2.10                          Improved surface access to LBA is considered essential to enhance its positive economic role in the area, and would also help it capture increased market share from other airports.

2.11                          Further to this, Leeds City Council are progressing with its surface access strategy alongside the airport to improve accessibility, ensure delivery of surface improvements and also to ensure sustainable modes of transport are used, with targets for public transport use included in the surface access strategy. Aims include increasing public transport use by passengers (excluding taxis) to 20% of trips by 2024 and 25% by 2030.

2.12                          Turning to access to Manchester Airport, a significant proportion of air passengers in the Leeds City Region currently have better transport connectivity to Manchester than they do to LBA, which accounts at least in part for the high levels of leakage.  This access is primarily achieved via the M62 motorway and the Transpennine rail route.  In terms of highway access, enhancements are currently underway (and further are proposed) to the M62 by way of the Smart Motorway widening to 4-lanes.  On rail, there are proposals by Network Rail to electrify the Transpennine route by 2022.  Increases in train passenger capacity will also be required to deal with future growth forecasts.

2.13                          Improvements to highway and public transport access to LBA should ultimately lead to a reduction in the ‘leakage’ to Airports outside the region and increase inward journeys to the LCR, which will play a key role in growing the LCR economy.

  1. Role of the Government in Planning Surface Access to Airports, including Funding of Strategic Connections

3.1                              In common with the views put forward by LBA, WYCA believe that the Government’s role in planning surface access could be strengthened to include providing greater strategic direction and clarity/certainty around funding streams. It is WYCA’s view that strategic Airport surface access proposals should be primarily funded as Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects (NSIP). However, the role of Government should not hinder the development of surface access proposals at a local level where there is a greater understanding of the context and issues.

3.2                              In the case of LBA, the Department for Transport (DfT) has been involved in assessing surface access to LBA through their 2014 study into the connectivity and accessibility of airport. This work was funded and led by DfT with a stated view at the outset that emerging proposals would be funded by Central Government. This work reported in late 2014, with a set of recommendations that included a strong economic case for taking forward a new Link Road.  In respect of the rail link, at the time this option demonstrated a weak economic case and scored poorly in terms of GVA, as it did not include airport-related development plans.  The report concluded that this scheme offered longer-term potential.

3.3                              In contrast to the originally stated intent for Central Government to fund the project outcomes, no additional funding was forthcoming. Instead it was proposed that if WYCA wished to take the findings forward, that the schemes could be funded from the previously allocated Growth Deal (which does not include any locally allocated funding for a rail link for reasons stated above).  This raises a key point around who the key beneficiaries are of airport-related surface access investment, and how funding sources need to reflect local, strategic and commercial benefits.

3.4                              On a wider funding issue, as well as the lack of Central Government funding for, what is viewed locally as an NSIP, there is also a level of uncertainty in terms of LBA’s forward investment commitments.  It is accepted however that the LBA Surface Access Strategy recognises the WY+TF assumption that some element of third party funding will be required, and that discussions will be necessary once some initial feasibility work has been completed.

  1. Government Policy Effectiveness

4.1                              WYCA concur with the view expressed by LBA that the Government’s effectiveness in ensuring its own policies are being achieved in relation to surface access is relatively limited in terms of the requirements of Aviation Policy Framework, given that surface access strategies do not have a statutory basis.

4.2                              The greatest impetus for the local Councils to align their actions with Government Policy is through the current planning process as influenced by the National Planning Policy Framework (and Planning Practice Guidance).

4.3                              Where surface access projects (such as the proposed Airport Link Road) are funded through Growth Deals predicated on the Single Economic Plans (SEPs) of Local Enterprise Partnerships, we also believe there is a further opportunity for the Government to ensure its own policies are being achieved. This will necessitate inter-departmental cooperation within Whitehall to ensure DfT policies are considered as part of the appraisal of scheme outputs by the Treasury/CLG who have oversight of the SEP and Growth Deals.

4.4                            It is the City Region view that the ‘transformational impact’ that key infrastructure schemes have is not properly considered within the existing appraisal frameworks. This has a bearing on how a nationally significant infrastructure project, such as a new rail link to an airport, is viewed.

 

  1. DfT Policy and Customer preference on mode

5.1                              As with many Regional and International Airports, the primary mode of access to LBA is by car, and it is envisaged that this will remain to be the case.  Even with high quality public transport infrastructure in place, there will always be a significant proportion of air travellers for whom travel mode considerations will be based around convenience, transport availability, luggage requirements, flexibility and cost.  Against these criteria, car access will invariably win out for many.

5.2                              However, experience from around the world has consistently demonstrated that improved (and high quality) public transport provision can lead to a significant shift in mode share, together with an improved perception of an Airport – which in turn facilitates the expansion of an airport and brings associated economic growth.  Airport access by employees and associated airport employment also plays a key role here, particularly in terms of access to the labour market.

5.3                              Without any form of improved public transport provision for LBA, the achievement of future growth projections will be highly challenging due to the increase in local highway impacts that any arising growth would lead to.

5.4                              In terms of current provision, bus services to LBA are not standalone routes, and function as part of bus operators’ wider networks, with journey times of 30-40 minutes to Leeds and Bradford centres (9 and 8 miles distance respectively).  These services also rely on subsidy from WYCA.  The current mode share by bus stands at under 6% as a result of the above factors.  It is clear that the nature and quality of the ‘offer’ is currently unattractive to the majority of airport users, and that the potential mode share by public transport could be significantly higher.

5.5                              Future planning of improved public transport connections is underway, and is considering a wide range of options.  It is clear from experience that high quality modes such as Heavy Rail or Light Rail/Tram-Train are ones which will bring about a shift in travel behaviour.  From the perspective of business travellers who access airports as an international gateway, high quality public transport is often viewed as a pre-requisite.  LBA is viewed as losing out at present as a consequence of its inadequate public transport provision.  The nationally significant role of airports such as LBA needs to be recognised in DfT policy, and with that, a level of Central Government funding allocated to deliver outcomes.

5.6                              DfT policy does need to recognise customer behaviour in terms of passenger considerations around airport choice and ease of access.  For many in the City Region, Manchester is easier to access than LBA. Policy needs to ensure that surface access barriers, either real or perceived, are addressed.

12 October 2015