Keighley & Ilkley MP Robbie Moore has called for Bradford Council and the West Yorkshire Combined Authority to "get on with it" and build a long-awaited footbridge to link Silsden and Steeton.
Speaking during a 'personal debate' brought by Mr Moore in Westminster Hall on 25th January, the MP highlighted that after WYCA was initially awarded £700,000 by the government in 2016 it took four years to complete a feasibility study - and that the initial costing of £3.6m for the bridge project has now escalated to more than £10m.
Declaring a personal interest in the project as a resident of Silsden himself, Mr Moore urged both authorities to accelerate the project with urgency, adding that Bradford Council and WYCA were “sitting on millions of pounds” of taxpayers money. Mr Moore also outlined his frustration that despite the government allocating funds for the bridge, local authorities continued to "dither and delay", whilst his constituents were "taking their lives in their hands" crossing the busy dual carriageway between Silsden and Steeton.
Responding to Mr Moore’s calls to accelerate the project, Minister for Transport Richard Holden said there had been a “clear hiatus” during the tenure of Keighley’s former Labour MP, adding that the local Labour authorities should he “held to account” for failing to deliver the project on time and vowing to raise the issue with both local authorities.
Mr Holden, who attended school in Skipton, said: "Although I am from the other side of the Pennines, I went to school just up the road so I am aware of the issues that he raises. Being an Ermysted’s old boy, I have friends from the neck of the woods that he mentions, in Silsden and Steeton and I know how important the road crossing is for him and his constituents."
He added that he would ask Department for Transport officials to write to WYCA and to continue to monitor progress.
Mr Holden added: "I look forward to seeing the City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council deliver promptly on the investment that my Department has made in this scheme. I will also be delighted to come up and visit (Mr Moore), because I think that we all need to put our shoulders to the wheel, just to give this scheme a bit of a nudge in the right direction."
Speaking after the debate, Robbie Moore MP said: “Residents in Steeton and Silsden have been waiting far too long for this bridge to be built. It is high time Labour-run Bradford Council and West Yorkshire Combined Authority get their act together and stop delaying this project.
"Our local Labour-run authorities are sitting on millions of pounds of taxpayers' money and their sluggish, lack-lustre approach is infuriating. Money has been given to them to build the bridge by our Conservative government and their dither and delay is incredibly frustrating, all while constituents who need to cross the busy dual carriageway continue to take their life into their own hands every time they attempt to make the crossing.”
"It is unbelievable it took our local Labour-run authorities 4 years to complete their initial feasibility study, and that it was only released in 2020, after I chased for it. What an earth have they been doing, and what on earth was our former Labour MP doing at the time to put pressure on them?
"I am glad that the Minister acknowledged the importance holding our local authorities to account and will now be in contact with both Authorities to push for its construction to be accelerated.
"Time is of the essence and it’s about time that they got their act together and get this bridge built."
You can read a full transcript of the debate by tapping here.
You can watch a selection of Mr Moore's comments in the debate below in the video produced by his team...
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