Leeds Station Gateway opening pushed to October
Elements of the £46.1m project are now expected to begin opening next month as construction work enters its final stages, more than a year after originally planned.
The scheme is transforming the main entrance to Leeds City Station, with new public realm and improved pedestrian and cycling facilities designed to provide a safer and more accessible gateway to the station.
Delivered by Balfour Beatty and Leeds City Council on behalf of Network Rail, in partnership with the West Yorkshire Combined Authority, the project has been constructed alongside essential Network Rail maintenance works to reinforce the underground structure beneath New Station Street.
The structure supports a significant part of the station above it, with the two programmes of work being delivered simultaneously to reduce disruption and improve value for money compared with carrying out the schemes separately.
Balfour Beatty is now completing the installation and testing of lifts between New Station Street and Bishopgate Street, as well as lifts serving the new cycle hub beneath the station.
Partners are also working to bring some elements of the scheme into use ahead of its full completion and handover to Network Rail.
The public realm area and steps between Bishopgate Street and New Station Street could open in early to mid-October, while the new lifts providing step-free access between the two streets are expected to open in mid-October. Their opening will allow the station’s taxi rank to relocate from Princes Square, at the rear of the station, to Bishopgate Street.
Meanwhile, the cycle hub lifts beneath the station are expected to open in late October.
Once the scheme is completed, Network Rail, as the asset owner, will take over responsibility for the development.
Work on the scheme began in 2022 and following a year of delays, had been touted to open this month. The delays have been attributed to the complexity of the engineering works, including the demolition of the former cycle hub and rotunda steps, the removal of 13 steel beams weighing up to 40 tonnes each, and maintenance work on the underground Mill Goit watercourse beneath the site.
Cllr James Lewis, leader of Leeds City Council, said: “The station gateway scheme will create a safer and more welcoming and accessible environment for everyone using the station’s main entrance, and we have seen a real rise in the number of people catching the train to and from Leeds and the facilities need to keep pace.
“I know it’s taken time, however, Leeds City Station is built on a massive and historic set of Victorian brick arches which need maintaining and the two schemes have gone ahead together.”
