Inquiry launched into failed transport schemes

THE decisions made by a local authority over two Leeds transport schemes which were eventually thrown out are to be investigated at an inquiry.

The council and West Yorkshire Combined Authority spent nearly 30 years and invested £72m in developing the Leeds trolleybus and Supertram projects, which were rejected by the Department for Transport (DfT) in May.

The £250m trolley bus network, known as the Leeds New Generation Transport (NGT), the successor to the Leeds Supertram project, which was scrapped by the DfT in 2005 because of affordability, was deemed not in the public interest by a planning inspector.

A scrutiny panel has now been tasked with examining the decisions made by Leeds City Council following a request from its leader Judith Blake.

It will be presented with a dossier of paperwork spanning three decades and will look at the roles of the council, combined authority and transport operator Metro in relation to decisions for both NGT and the Supertram.