Plans to buy up land for new Elland rail station approved
A site near Lowfields Way – near Lowfields Industrial Estate - is to be handed over to Network Rail for the new station
Calderdale councillors agreed to use compulsory purchase powers to acquire land which is needed to develop the new £25 million rail station at Elland.
The powers were granted by Government last year but the council’s Cabinet members had to agree to make a general vesting declaration – a statutory procedure allowing a council to acquire ownership of land and property – to act on it.
In this case the land is a 1.52 hectare site off Lowfields Way – near Lowfields Industrial Estate – and the station will provide an extra stop on both the Wigan-Leeds and Bradford-Huddersfield lines.
A suite of decisions taken by Cabinet mean that once in its ownership, the land, along with other parcels including some already owned by the council, will be given to Network Rail to help enable work on the new station to progress.
They also approved voluntarily purchasing freehold of other land needed to develop the station – this includes three parcels of land belonging to two companies which have now been dissolved.
That land now belongs to the Crown and negotiations for the purchase of it from the Government, which acts on the Crown’s behalf, are nearly done, said Cabinet member for Regeneration and Transport, Coun Sarah Courtney (Lab, Calder).
Answering a question from ward councillor Peter Hunt (Con, Elland), who asked why, given the Government had granted the CPO last year, it had taken so long, she said work had been going on in the background.
As these were significant undertakings affecting landowners and other rights holders, it was not unusual for the process to take quite a long time, said Coun Courtney.
“This is really, really welcome – it’s been a long time coming.
“The station is being designed to serve Elland and the surrounding area and to improve the town’s transport connectivity to the wide region,” she said.
The timescale should see a full business case taken to project partners West Yorkshire Combined Authority in the autumn and construction starting early in 2026 – it is due to be finished by late 2026, councillors have previously been told.
All land needed must be in Network Rail’s ownership before work can begin, Coun Courtney said and added that businesses at Lowfields were looking forward to the extra link being realised.
Council Deputy Leader Coun Scott Patient (Lab, Luddenden Foot) said he had spoken to 400-employee strong employer Suma Wholefoods at Lowfields, where employee parking was taking up more and more of the available spaces.
“They said ‘at last, we can’t wait’ – being able to offer people a different way of getting there.
“The end feels in sight now,” he said.
Many of Suma’s workforce travel from the upper Calder Valley, said Coun Patient, and the station freeing up some traffic on the Elland by-pass would benefit drivers using the route.
Rayo Premium