Comment

Representation ID: 17304

Received: 22/03/2021

Respondent: The Great Northern Railway Trail Development Group

Our group has been pioneering sustainable transport in Bradford District and had the privilege in the early 2000s of working in partnership with Bradford Council and Sustrans to develop the Great Northern Railway Trail. For some twenty years, we have promoted and safeguarded our vision to link Queensbury to Cullingworth using the former Great Northern Railway line for cycling and walking; we continue to do so. The Trail forms part of Route 69 of the National Cycle Network and forms part of Bradford Council’s District-wide cycle network.
We have been promoting sustainable transport long before politicians took serious note of the potential in an age of concern over climate change and environmental issues, such as loss of habitat and poor air quality.
The original aim of the Trail was linking Cullingworth to Queensbury, primarily to save the listed railway viaducts from demolition. Now that that has been achieved through the development of three miles of the Trail, opened to the public, our vision has widened to link the key settlements of Bradford, Halifax and Keighley in the same manner. This includes the Queensbury Tunnel, where a local group is campaigning to save this for cycling and walking.
Currently, we are in partnership with five town and parish councils in the Keighley area, supported by Bradford Council. We are supporting the campaign by the Queensbury Tunnel Society to save Queensbury Tunnel from being filled in because it includes a section of route forming part of our vision to use this tunnel for cycling and walking.