Bradford’s Forster Square plans delayed

Development plans for long-awaited upgrades to the railway station have been placed on hold to align with design work for West Yorkshire’s £2.5bn mass transit system.

First outlined in 2017, the Forster Square scheme proposes a new ticket office, toilets, retail units and improved lift access, and was costed at £17.3m.

The construction work was awarded to Morgan Sindall, with the wider project team also consisting of the council, West Yorkshire Combined Authority, and Network Rail.

The project is intended to modernise the station environment and create a more attractive gateway into Bradford city centre.

A report to the council’s regeneration and environment scrutiny committee says the station is now ‘expected’ to be the terminus for the mass transit route linking Bradford and Leeds.

As a result, elements of the station improvement programme may need to be revisited to integrate with the emerging tram infrastructure.

An outline business case has been prepared for the station gateway scheme, but public consultation has been paused and submission of the OBC delayed pending further clarity on the proposed mass transit terminus.

While strategic decisions are awaited, the project team will carry out advanced technical surveys at the station to support the next stage of design work.

Since the improvements were first proposed, Forster Square has seen the addition of a new £24m Platform 0, delivered by BAM, which increases the number of direct London services.

Funding for the mass transit system was approved by Chancellor Rachel Reeves in June, with construction expected to begin in 2028.

The plan is then for the first trams to e operational by the mid-2030s.