Comment

Representation ID: 29724

Received: 24/03/2021

Respondent: Mrs Caroline Whitaker

There is an overemphasis on the connectivity of the town to other settlements.

1. The nearest railway station is not located in the centre of the town but a lengthy (for some) 1 mile walk to the south of it.

2. Pedestrian and cycling access to the station is further hampered by a lack of safe crossing over the A629 dual carriageway and an inadequate pavement out of town along the A6034.

3. Those travelling by car to the station are unable to park there after 7.30am in the morning because of the station’s popularity with commuters from other towns both within and outside West Yorkshire. The promised car park extension (Table 1 TR1.B.2) was abruptly halted when the rail franchise was passed back to the Government and may now be delayed indefinitely.

4. Buses do run from the town to the station but they do not run through the middle of the town and they are not timetabled to connect with the arrival and departure of rail services.

5. Other bus services are of limited distance i.e. they terminate at Ilkley and Keighley and there is no direct bus service to Skipton. In particular, much is made throughout the report (including public transport accessibility statements on each site) of the bus to Leeds Bradford Airport. This service no longer runs, in fact the No. 62 Transdev bus service now terminates in Ilkley