West Yorkshire Mass Transit SDF Joint Committee - Friday 23 January 2026, 1:30pm - West Yorkshire Combined Authority Webcasting

West Yorkshire Mass Transit SDF Joint Committee
Friday, 23rd January 2026 at 1:30pm 

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  1. Martin Elliot
  2. Myles Larrington, Committee Services Officer (West Yorkshire Combined Authority)
  3. Liz Hunter, Director (West Yorkshire Combined Authority)
  4. Mr Mike Birch
  5. Cllr Jonathan Pryor Leeds City Council
  6. Cllr Alex Ross-Shaw (Bradford Council)
  7. John Buddle
  8. Hannah Andrew, Officer (West Yorkshire Combined Authority)
  9. Steven Wright
  10. Cllr Moses Crook Kirklees Council
  11. Stacey White, Officer (West Yorkshire Combined Authority)
  12. Martin Elliot
  13. Cllr Scott Patient Calderdale Council
  14. Martin Elliot
  15. Cllr Alex Ross-Shaw (Bradford Council)
  16. Martin Elliot
  17. Cllr Jonathan Pryor Leeds City Council
  18. Martin Elliot
  19. Cllr Scott Patient Calderdale Council
  20. Martin Elliot
  21. Mr Jonathan Timbers
  22. Cllr Jonathan Pryor Leeds City Council
  23. Stacey White, Officer (West Yorkshire Combined Authority)
  24. Cllr Jonathan Pryor Leeds City Council
  25. Martin Elliot
  26. Cllr Jonathan Pryor Leeds City Council
  27. Cllr Moses Crook Kirklees Council
  28. Martin Elliot
  29. Cllr Jonathan Pryor Leeds City Council
  30. Martin Elliot
  31. Cllr Jonathan Pryor Leeds City Council
  32. Cllr Alex Ross-Shaw (Bradford Council)
  33. Cllr Jonathan Pryor Leeds City Council
  34. Martin Elliot
  35. Cllr Alex Ross-Shaw (Bradford Council)
  36. Cllr Jonathan Pryor Leeds City Council
  37. Cllr Alex Ross-Shaw (Bradford Council)
  38. Mayor Tracy Brabin, Mayor of West Yorkshire
  39. Cllr Alex Ross-Shaw (Bradford Council)
  40. Cllr Jonathan Pryor Leeds City Council
  41. Cllr Alex Ross-Shaw (Bradford Council)
  42. Cllr Jonathan Pryor Leeds City Council
  43. Webcast Finished

Thank you.
Thank you.
Welcome, everybody.
Martin Elliot - 0:00:10
My name is Martin Elliott, and I am Head of Strategic Planning for Leeds City Council.
And the reason I am chairing in a very interim capacity this afternoon is because we are
discussing the joint committee which is here to move forward the West Yorkshire mass transit
spatial development framework and because that is a new committee it does not have an
appointed chair so that is one of our first orders of business this afternoon but before
we get to that if I would like to confirm that we are being webcast this afternoon and
introduce people around the table please I'll start with my left.
Miles larington committee services officer Tracy brave in mayor of West
Myles Larrington, Committee Services Officer (West Yorkshire Combined Authority) - 0:00:58
Liz Hunter, Director (West Yorkshire Combined Authority) - 0:01:00
Yorkshire listen to him executive director for transport my birds direct
Mr Mike Birch - 0:01:03
Cllr Jonathan Pryor Leeds City Council - 0:01:06
from mass transit counsellor Jonathan prior deputy leader of lead City Council
Cllr Alex Ross-Shaw (Bradford Council) - 0:01:09
counsellor Alex Roshaw portfolio holder for regeneration planning transport
John Buddle - 0:01:18
Bradford council John borrowed back to council local planting leader Elaine on
Kirkley's Council's any plan Hannah Andrew West York combined authority
Hannah Andrew, Officer (West Yorkshire Combined Authority) - 0:01:27
planning lead Steve Wright service manager planning policy environments at
Steven Wright - 0:01:34
Wakefield Council councilman Khan representing Wakefield council emerges
Kirk deputy leader of Kirkley's Council that's the Scott patient deputy leader
Cllr Moses Crook Kirklees Council - 0:01:44
of Colidale Council Stacy white head of place and consents in the mass transit
team at the combined authority.
Stacey White, Officer (West Yorkshire Combined Authority) - 0:01:47
Martin Elliot - 0:01:51
Okay thank you for that. Can I also note that we have met the necessary
quorum for this meeting and can proceed on that basis.
So for the first order of business could I ask for nominations for the position of chair
please.
Thank you. I'd like to nominate Councillor Jonathan
Cllr Scott Patient Calderdale Council - 0:02:08
Pryor if I may.
Could I ask if anyone would like to move that?
Martin Elliot - 0:02:13
Cllr Alex Ross-Shaw (Bradford Council) - 0:02:15
Thank you.
So that's moved.
Martin Elliot - 0:02:17
So that's Councillor Jonathan Pryor has been appointed as chair.
Could I ask if anyone would like to nominate a deputy chair, please?
Cllr Jonathan Pryor Leeds City Council - 0:02:33
Can I nominate Councillor Alex Rosha, please?
Any seconders?
Martin Elliot - 0:02:37
I'd be second.
Cllr Scott Patient Calderdale Council - 0:02:41
So that's Councillor Alex Rocha Shaw as Deputy Chair.
Martin Elliot - 0:02:43
So I'll hand the meeting over to okay.
Thank you, Liz.
So can we have a vote on the appointment of Councillor Pryor as Chair, please?
Thank you.
So that's five of the committee members.
And can I have a vote for Councillor Alex Rocha Shaw, please?
And that's for the committee members.
Okay.
Thank you.
I can now hand the meeting over to Councillor Jonathan Pryor as chair.
So first of all, I just want to raise the special circumstances which exist in regard
to agenda item for appendix 3 in that it was only possible to finalise the
documents and publish it after publication of the agenda and it's in
Mr Jonathan Timbers - 0:03:53
the interest of the committee's work programme the timely progression of the
regulation 18 consultation document that the item be considered in today's
Cllr Jonathan Pryor Leeds City Council - 0:03:59
meeting and to move to apologies for absence first of all apologies for
absence chair been received from councillor Matthew Morley with
Councillor Armand Kahn kindly attending as his substitute. Fabulous. Do we have
any declarations of disposable pecuniary interests? I see none. And then we move to
establishment and governance arrangements.
Stacey White, Officer (West Yorkshire Combined Authority) - 0:04:27
Yes, that's a me, Chair. Thank you. So, members will hopefully remember that we took a decision to endorse the
formation of the Joint Committee at the Combined Authority meeting last May. So
This report seeks to establish the membership and formal governance arrangements for the joint committee.
We've already established the chair and the deputy chair.
So the paper sets out the appointment of the regular members and the substitute members for each of the five local authorities.
And as I've said, the paper then formally notes the appointment of the chair and deputy chair.
In terms of the mayor's role on this, the mayor is a non -voting member here as the lead
for the combined authority in the role in terms of the mass transit scheme promoter.
In terms of voting arrangements, each of the substantive members will have one vote.
In terms of procedure rules and car room, the meeting procedures are set out in the
attached terms of reference and the car room for the meeting is three voting members.
should car room at the meeting not be achieved,
the meeting will adjourn to a date, time, and place
fixed by the chair.
So we're just asking the elected members note
the membership of the Mass Transit SDF Framework
Joint Committee as detailed in paragraph 2 .3,
that the committee appoint the chair and deputy chair
of the committee, that the committee appoints
West Yorkshire Combine Authority as lead authority,
that the committee co -ops the mayor of West Yorkshire combined authorities and non -voting
member of the committee, and that the committee notes the terms of reference and governance
arrangements of the committee as set out in the deed of agreement at appendix 1 and approve
that this be issued for formal sign -off by each local authority partner.
That's it, Chair.
Thank you.
Cllr Jonathan Pryor Leeds City Council - 0:06:33
We will move on to the West Yorkshire mass transit spatial development framework joint
development plan document.
Martin.
Thank you, chair.
Martin Elliot - 0:06:43
So I'm introducing the proposed material for an early stage public consultation for the
West Yorkshire mass transit spatial development framework.
So that framework or SDF is being produced as a joint development plan document which
gives it significant strategy planning weight for each local planning authority. It will
help support the business case and progression of a much needed transit system for West Yorkshire
and it will assist local planning authorities in maximising the opportunities that this
brings by supporting decisions around land use, regeneration and infrastructure that
are joined up with the mass transit network. So the SDF's main objective is to align transport
investment with a spatial strategy that unlocks inclusive sustainable growth across Bradford,
Calderdale, Leeds, Kirklees and Wakefield.
It complements, not replaces, local plans.
It doesn't allocate sites or review green belt.
It doesn't set new growth targets or fix routes alignments.
All of these activities will be for either the mass transit programme itself or individual
local plans.
What's proposed here is a 25 -year proactive region -wide planning framework built around
eight objectives on page 10 of the document and the appendix.
They cover a range of objectives around integrating transport and spatial planning, inclusive
growth, high -quality place -led regeneration, supporting the transition to net zero carbon
economy and protecting and enhancing the natural and built environment.
They are also supplemented around seven themes, which are included in pages 13 to 27 of the
appendix.
So all of this together will enable high quality, high density mixed use development where it
makes sense and sends a clear consistent signal to investors within West Yorkshire.
An alternative business as usual approach to the SDF would have been to have individual
local planning authorities prepare these policies and bring them forward when they update their
plans.
But that's been considered that that would miss the opportunity to have consistent policies
now when they are most needed and it would risk fragmented outcomes.
So this early stage public consultation will run from the 29th of January to the 12th of
and we're seeking people's views on what's included, the vision and objectives, the seven
themes and what people think about them.
That feedback will then be used to draught policies that will be subject to further public consultation
in the summer and the idea being to submit the final document to the Secretary of State
by year end for independent examination.
So it's recommended that the joint committee endorse proceeding on the basis outlined in
this report and the substance within appendix to item 4.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Cllr Jonathan Pryor Leeds City Council - 0:09:46
Before we just move to questions and comments, we just briefly need to vote on the recommendations
of item 3 on the agenda, which I overlooked.
So I could see a show of hands in favour of accepting those recommendations.
Excellent.
Thank you.
Any questions or comments for Martin?
Thanks very much.
Cllr Moses Crook Kirklees Council - 0:10:14
I mean, I'm very grateful for the collaborative approach
that's been taken to developing this document
and the way that all of the five members of West Yorkshire
have been able to input.
I did have one query about our reference
to affordable homes within the document
because I think this document relates not just
to mass transit or future mass transit
but also to our home growth, housing growth.
And I think affordable homes, particularly in my rural ward,
as 80 percent of market value, doesn't reflect the true meaning
of the word affordable.
And so I wondered if we could substitute truly affordable or
social and affordable to align with ministerial priorities
around the social and affordable housing programme and the funding
that will be associated with that.
Thank you.
Yeah, thank you for that question.
Martin Elliot - 0:10:58
We can certainly clarify the definition of affordable homes and certainly by doing so
sort of relate it to the national definition which includes a really heavy emphasis on
social mending.
Cllr Jonathan Pryor Leeds City Council - 0:11:16
Any further questions or comments?
Thank you, Chair.
Martin Elliot - 0:11:19
Just for completeness, the recommendations do also note that it may be necessary to make
some non -material changes to this document before it goes out for public consultation.
So just checking that the committee is happy for those to be made in consultation with
you as chair.
Cllr Jonathan Pryor Leeds City Council - 0:11:43
Any further comments, questions?
Thanks, Chair. I suppose less on the content more on how we manage it if this goes out
Cllr Alex Ross-Shaw (Bradford Council) - 0:11:52
to the public arena obviously with the news recently of the renewed timescales and everything.
It's just how we make sure it lands right and how we approach it to kind of provide
that reassurance really and anticipate what the response will be. So probably just airing
that to say we'll probably need to have a bit of a think about that so we can provide
a bit of reassurance this is moving forward and we're all behind it and what is going
happen so it's not for us to think about.
Yes I think you're absolutely right. I think we have demonstrated through this whole process
this collaborative work across the five authorities and with the combined
authorities so we're in detailed discussion with comms officers both
within the combined authority but also across the five districts to make sure
that we're really consistent in the rationale for undertaking this work and that there's
still a continued commitment to mass transit and the fact that we're progressing this land
use framework is a further sort of reaffirmation of that commitment.
So you're right, I think we need to further work with COMS officers to make sure that
the messaging at the point that we launch the consultation is consistent but also that
we're all aligned in terms of any queries that we might get from members of the public
in terms of how we can respond to those queries as well.
Just a quick one around – lots of allusions around green and blue infrastructure, which
is really laudable sort of throughout there. I'm just wondering how that works with the
policy body in terms of what exists within our boroughs and what doesn't exist within
in our borough but what exists here at LNRS and what that interplay looks like in real
terms when it comes down to infrastructure being built and thinking about access to green
spaces and nature for people.
That's a really important point and it will be about aligning the SDF with not only the
local nature recovery strategy but also the designated sites that are already within local
plans because they are where they are.
So the transit routes will have to reflect them.
But what the sort of the ambitions for green and blue infrastructure is to have more of
it, improve its quality and connect it.
So where any transit line can help in each of those three things, this SDF will sort
of set that as a framework for the local authorities to pursue.
How realistic is it that we'll meet the deadlines?
We've got two major consultations in that one year period.
Is it a realistic deadline that we've set?
Thank you for that.
I think it is because of the scope of the document.
It's quite a discrete scope.
It's focused on, as I say, only sort of eight objectives.
It doesn't allocate sites, so we're not anticipating that in the usual sort of
consultation responses that we get from local plans, this should be significantly
Cllr Jonathan Pryor Leeds City Council - 0:15:16
more sort of streamlined in terms of its approach and that will enable us I think
to meet those deadlines, Councillor.
Martin Elliot - 0:15:19
Cllr Alex Ross-Shaw (Bradford Council) - 0:15:22
Any further questions, comments?
Cllr Jonathan Pryor Leeds City Council - 0:15:25
Thank you.
Cllr Alex Ross-Shaw (Bradford Council) - 0:15:30
Thanks so much for inviting me and it feels strange not to be a voting member.
Mayor Tracy Brabin, Mayor of West Yorkshire - 0:15:34
But just to firstly thank you all for the partnership working and I do really
believe this reflects the West Yorkshire way how we can cross local authorities
work together for the good of West Yorkshire and I just want to build on
Councillor Rosha's comments, that I'm really keen that we get this consultation out as
soon as possible to continue making the case that mass transit is the opportunity of a
generation for us in West Yorkshire. It isn't, and to the points that have been made already,
it isn't just about connectivity, it's about the ambitions around regeneration, around
housing, the skills pipeline, our young people are having decades of high quality, well paid
employment in engineering and being able to ensure that the fantastic opportunities across
the whole of West Yorkshire are accessible to everyone. And too often when you listen
to members of the public and they tell you, well you know I can't go to that university
because I just can't get there, the transport doesn't work or you know I'm not going to
go for a job in Bradford because I live in
Wakefield.
We have to stop that.
This is where your inspiration,
you are very inspiring in your leadership
that you have understood
that whilst you might not be part
of the first phase,
it is so important for all of us
to have that connectivity
and being able
to connect
in Leeds up to the hospital,
for example,
is going to help the people of
Caulderdale who come to use this incredible
oncology unit
So,
So, I really do believe that this is a moment in time
we will all be able to point to as we get older,
that we were part of this historic investment.
We had the vision. We worked in partnership.
We weren't parochial with our arm around our own projects,
that we understood that this was for the benefit
of the whole region.
So, thank you to the officers that have helped.
But really powerfully thank you to you, all of you, for that collaboration that you've
shown across regions.
So thank you.
And I look forward to this going out to the public and moving us on to the next step.
And as you all know, I am very determined that we deliver mass transit.
I'm determined it's going to be a tram.
and we will make the case, the powerful case, as we go through the process with
government about what we need here in West Yorkshire because we know our patch,
we know our people, we know our businesses and we know the once -in -a -lifetime
opportunities so thank you all.
Cllr Alex Ross-Shaw (Bradford Council) - 0:18:26
And with that can I move to the recommendations?
Cllr Jonathan Pryor Leeds City Council - 0:18:28
I see those in favour.
Cllr Alex Ross-Shaw (Bradford Council) - 0:18:35
Cllr Jonathan Pryor Leeds City Council - 0:18:36
And with that I'll close the meeting. Thanks for coming.
That was swift.
Mr Mike Birch
West Yorkshire Combined Authority
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