Two Bradford rail station upgrade plans delayed
- Published
Proposals to redevelop Bradford Interchange include improving the station concourse and public realm
Plans to upgrade Bradford's central railway stations have been delayed because of staff shortages.
A £5.65m revamp of Bradford Interchange was due for completion in September 2020 but is now not expected to be finished until October 2021.
And a £17.3m upgrade of Forster Square faces a nine-month delay and is not due to be complete until the end of 2021.
A report by a local authority, external suggested a "shortage" of resources and expertise at the council was behind the delays.
According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, external, West Yorkshire Combined Authority also confirmed that the costs of feasibility studies into both projects had gone up.
Proposals for Bradford Interchange include improving the station concourse with a pedestrian-only area in front, new access areas for taxis and passenger drop-off locations.
The planned Forster Square redevelopment includes a new station building, improved security, converting unused railway arches into shops and providing "better connectivity" with the rest of the city centre.
West Yorkshire Combined Authority is funding both projects with Bradford Council contributing £250,000 to the Forster Square scheme
Planning permission applications for the projects are yet to be submitted.
Referring to the Interchange project plans, the report said: "Due to a shortage of resource the outline business case submission has been delayed by nine months.
"This has also affected the full business case and full business case cost submissions by twelve months which has in turn meant a thirteen month delay in the completion of this project (from September 2020 to October 2021)."
The report also said there was "insufficient expertise" at Bradford Council to write an "invitation to tender" document for the Forster Square redevelopment.
Bradford Council has been approached for a comment.
West Yorkshire Combined Authority is funding both projects with Bradford Council contributing £250,000 to the Forster Square scheme.