Leeds City Square’s planned revamp could prove to be the “jewel in the crown” of the city in a jubilee year, according to a senior civil servant.
Around £15m is expected to be spent on works to double the size of the space, which will include closing the roads to general traffic, giving priority to public transport, pedestrians and cyclists.
A report into work on the Leeds City Centre Package, stated work would also involve converting East Parade and King Street into a two-way street with bus stops, as well as introducing signals at Globe Road and Westgate.
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The works are expected to start this April and could be finished by the end of the year.
The scheme’s programme manager James Bennett told a West Yorkshire Combined Authority meeting: “On the face of it, it has a poor value for money. But it is the strategic case that is really strong for this scheme, and if you don’t view it in pure isolation, a lot of the works that have come before, such as at Armley, have been to enable this scheme.
“We are in this Jubilee year so, for Leeds, I would say this is the jewel in the crown of all schemes that have come before.
“It allows us to open up city square as an events space, for example, for the forthcoming city of culture 2023. It will allow future proofing for mass transit through the centre of Leeds, and it moves that traffic out onto the strategic road network where it should be.
“For bus users, there is a reduction in delays through this area by 15-25 per cent.”
The cost of the scheme is 15.3m in total, with WYCA to contribute £6.4m.
Leeds City Council’s executive member for transport Coun Helen Hayden (Lab) said: “I would just add about the air quality advantages in the city centre. This area, and Dark Neville Street is the worst, possibly in the country, for air quality, so it will really improve that.
“For people like me who have their wedding reception in the Queens Hotel, it will be good because you don’t have to cross four lanes of traffic.”
According to plans released last year, early blueprints for a newly-designed City Square included woodland and water features, with the entire area between the Queens Hotel and Mill Hill Chapel closed to general traffic.
A council report said the site would feature a “conceptual reincarnation” of the ancient Forest of Leodis on which the city is built, as well as “informal play” for children, with platforms and rock steps to climb and jump off, as well as a water feature.
City Square was first built in 1897, alongside the old Post Office building.
