Plan for Castleford railway bridge is approved
A planning application to build a bridge over a Castleford railway line as part of a larger redevelopment project has been approved.
The bridge will cross the railway line around Wheldon Road.
It is part of a scheme intended to improve the route between Saville Road and Wheldon Road, so Fryston and Airedale are better connected to Castleford town centre.
Earlier this year Wakefield Council said the broader scheme would create 2,000 new jobs and 3,500 new homes on industrial land.
A design and access statement provided with the application said: “The proposed bridge supplements the proposed highways modifications as part of the wider Castleford Growth Corridor Scheme, and ultimately aims to promote active travel into Castleford, helping realise the full benefit of other regeneration schemes in the area.”
Speaking ahead of a consultation event in January, Coun Matthew Morley, the council’s cabinet member for planning and highways, said: “We want to give people opportunities to walk and cycle as much as possible and to do this we need to make it safe and efficient for them to do so.
“There are so many benefits for people’s health and wellbeing, and it reduces traffic and congestion on our roads.”
Wakefield Council is working in partnership with the West Yorkshire Combined Authority on the scheme.
Tracy Brabin, Mayor of West Yorkshire, said: “This scheme will bring long-term improvements to Castleford, making it easier for people to walk and cycle around the town, as well as helping to provide thousands of new jobs and houses.”