New investment on track to transform station and town centre

Major new investment for Selby station and the surrounding area has been confirmed – paving the way for a once-in-a-generation transformation of Selby town centre.

The money is part of the Government’s Transforming Cities Fund, which was designed to improve productivity by investing in public and sustainable transport infrastructure around cities. Selby’s bid is a joint scheme from the district and county councils and is part of a larger package of projects within the Leeds City Region, submitted by the West Yorkshire Combined Authority.

£17.5m has been allocated for the work, which will deliver a. number of schemes including new frontage to the rail station, new public spaces, new links between the station and town centre and new residential and business developments.

Proposals now have to go through further detailed assessments before the funding is finalised.

Leader of Selby District Council, Cllr Mark Crane, explained, “Selby has recently been recognised as the best place to live in the north of England – and we’re seeing more and more people choose to live and work in our area, whilst benefiting from our close links to the major economic hubs of Leeds, Hull, York and Sheffield. This money will be used to totally transform the area around Selby station – helping to support better transport links to and from Selby and the rest of the north.

“This will have huge benefits for people living in the town and businesses based here, as well as helping to support visitors coming to the area.”

North Yorkshire County Councillor, Don Mackenzie, Executive Member for Access, added, “The Selby Gateway Scheme is one of three projects on which the County Council has worked closely with districts as part of the bidding process to the Government’s Transforming Cities Fund. Harrogate and Skipton have similarly ambitious projects.

“This award is great news for Selby and supports our commitment to deliver sustainable residential and business growth, alongside improvements in transport infrastructure. The additional investment is excellent news for Selby’s residents and businesses.”

Selby is also benefiting from separate investment to improve accessibility within the station and from improved rail services linking the town to major cities across the north and directly to London.

Cllr Kim Groves, Chair of the West Yorkshire Combined Authority Transport Committee said, “We’re delighted with the government’s announcement in the budget to support our region’s Transforming Cities Fund bid, which means we will be able to deliver a transformational programme of new infrastructure, and help create a step change in travel across the region.

“We’ve worked with partners across the region to develop the Transforming Cities Fund programme, to ensure the measures it contains will have a significant beneficial impact across communities in the region.

“Through the Transforming Cities Fund programme, the West Yorkshire Combined Authority and partners across the region aim to boost public transport, build high quality infrastructure for people to travel by bike or on foot, and help us to start to address the climate crisis.”