Government confirms £173m for transport in Leeds

The money will be spent on a range of projects including new bus priority lanes, park and ride services and developing rail station proposals

A £270m project aimed at improving public transport in Leeds has moved a step closer after the government confirmed a £173.5m funding package.

The multi-million pound scheme includes plans to ease congestion in the city and create new park and ride services and bus priority lanes.

Leeds City Council leader Judith Blake said the project would make it "quicker and easier to move around the city".

First West Yorkshire has previously pledged to invest £71m on new buses.

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Funding has also been contributed by the West Yorkshire Combined Authority and the private sector.

The money will be used to fund a range of projects, including new park and ride services in Stourton and north Leeds and developing proposals for rail stations at Thorpe Park and White Rose Business Park, as well as a parkway station on the Leeds to Harrogate line to serve Leeds Bradford Airport.

Transport Minister Andrew Jones said: "New segregated bus corridors and investment in park and ride schemes will be a huge benefit to people who live and work in Leeds, and those who visit the city.

"Better transport facilities don't just help people get around, they help them get on - connecting them to jobs and helping to deliver economic growth in the north."

The government had previously pledged to invest the money in plans for a trolley bus network in Leeds but the proposal was scrapped in 2016 after a planning inspector said the scheme was "not in the public interest".