Authority mulls reappointing contractor to stalled Leeds rail station

The West Yorkshire Combined Authority (WYCA) is due to consider whether to reappoint the same contractor as it looks to restart a stalled railway scheme that is 70 per cent complete.

Work to build White Rose Station, close to White Rose business park and White Rose shopping centre in south-west Leeds, took place from March 2022 until the spring of 2024.

Main contractor Spencer Group carried out the job on behalf of the WYCA and developer Munroe K under a £26.5m budget.

The entire budget, including its contingency, was used up before the project came to a halt, with the WYCA blaming the post-Covid and Brexit period for “unprecedented cost inflation and […] significant programme slippage”.

Tasks that still need to be finished include cladding, fit-out, mechanical, electrical and plumbing, installation of lifts and customer information systems, and operational railway work such as signalling.

Councillors at the combined authority are set to decide whether to provide funding to finish the scheme and work on a strategy at a meeting on Thursday (8 May).

The lack of progress on the station is set to have a knock-on effect on wider work on the Network Rail-led TransPennine Route Upgrade set to connect to the same stretch of line by the end of 2026, especially at Cottingley.

A report prepared by Network Rail to help WYCA decide how to proceed described the build carried out to date as being done to “a high standard”.

It has also provided the authority with “a high-level strengths and weaknesses assessment” of whether Spencer Group should complete the project or whether “an alternative delivery route” should be pursued.

Its report has not been made public, but according to a document published by the WYCA ahead of the meeting, the station could be open by January 2027 if a decision is made quickly, which would mitigate the impact on the TransPennine Route Upgrade works.

If the authority approves plans to further fund the scheme, another report is set to be brought to its members in July outlining how much is actually needed, and will give further details of the approach to be taken to complete the work.