Better railway parking pledge for Morley, Mirfield and South Elmsall

The scheme would initially see expansion work carried out to provide more parking spaces at Fitzwilliam, Horsforth, South Elmsall and Mytholmroyd.

A second wave of projects would increase the size of car parks at Hebdon Bridge, Menston, Mirfield, Morley, Normanton, Shipley and Steeton and Silsden stations.

The improvements are expected to cost around £14 million to be paid out of the West Yorkshire Transport Fund - a put of money put together by West Yorkshire councils along with government cash.

It is hoped providing more car parking spaces at stations across West Yorkshire will make it easier for people to access jobs over a wider area as well as reducing traffic on the roads.

The car parks are also designed to reduce the number of people leaving their cars on residential streets close to railway stations.

Improving station car parks is part of a much wider package of transport improvements designed to grow the area’s economy being overseen by the West Yorkshire Combined Authority.

Councillors on the Combined Authority will be asked in the coming weeks to approve the spending of £137,000 to develop the schemes in more detail.

The first round of schemes are expected to be easier to progress because the land needed is readily available to develop.

Construction on these schemes is expected to begin by the end of March.

The later projects are more complex because they involve land where there are existing tenants or it is not owned by one of the councils or by Network Rail.