A New Site for Leeds Bradford Airport.

guitar man · Post by **guitar man** » Mon 27 Jan, 2014 8:50 pm

It has been suggested on tonights Look North that the region would be better served by moving Leeds Bradford Airport to another location with better road and rail Links.The only place I could suggest would be the former Royal Air Force Base at Church Fenton which already has a railway station, a spur off the A 1 (M) could be built. Any other ideas?

raveydavey · Post by **raveydavey** » Mon 27 Jan, 2014 9:09 pm

It's long been suggested that a site to the East of Leeds would be a much better location for the airport.Church Fenton would seem a good site, easily located off the major road network (nothing a half decent link road wouldn't sort) and just by the planned Northern end of HS2.However, given the hurdles anyone would have to go through to build a "new" airport it seems unlikely ever to happen.

Tyke · Post by **Tyke** » Mon 27 Jan, 2014 9:10 pm

Thats strange isn’t there a spur of the HS2 going there as well.

Phill_dvsn · Post by **Phill_dvsn** » Mon 27 Jan, 2014 9:21 pm

I can't see Bradford Council being happy if the airport moved to East Leeds. They carried on when they lost the direct trains to London. It would be nice if it did happen though. If only to wind up that old Y.E.P Trolleybus crank from Bradford Oldsyph

Cardiarms · Post by **Cardiarms** » Mon 27 Jan, 2014 9:51 pm

Church Fenton makes perfect sense, proximity to road and rail links to north , South, east and west. And hs2.

jim · Post by **jim** » Mon 27 Jan, 2014 10:06 pm

There would be one problem with the rail links - the two eastern tracks from Leeds over the viaducts/embankments past the Parish Church are the most congested pieces of railway in the area, and are already running at (over)full capacity. A solution to this particular problem as it is now seems to be nowhere in sight, and any additional pressure caused by an airport to the east would seem to be out of the question. The only other approach might be via Woodlesford and Castleford, but that would be a long way round to form a fast route, even though there is probably some spare capacity.

liits · Post by **liits** » Mon 27 Jan, 2014 10:39 pm

In the very early 80's wasn’t something like this planned for one of the other RAF places a little closer to York. I’m sure I remember reading about it in the YEP [so, maybe not that reliable after all] and that a private consortium was planning to rival Manchester and pull the rug from beneath the fog-bound / resident opposed LBA.The more I think about it, the more I think it was Elvington.

majorhoundii · Post by **majorhoundii** » Tue 28 Jan, 2014 9:20 am

Surely any site further east makes Manchester more attractive. Most of the population of Yorkshire live in West Yorkshire, to the west of Leeds. Leeds/Bradford takes me about 45 minutes from Morley, even early on a Saturday morning. I can be at Manchester in not much more time. Having said that, a workmate of mine who lives at Crook, Co. Durham who's just discovered Jet2, raves about LBA, he says he can be there in just over the hour, nearly as quickly as he can get to Newcastle.

Post by **tyke bhoy** » Tue 28 Jan, 2014 10:13 am

majorhoundii wrote: Surely any site further east makes Manchester more attractive. Most of the population of Yorkshire live in West Yorkshire, to the west of Leeds. Leeds/Bradford takes me about 45 minutes from Morley, even early on a Saturday morning. I can be at Manchester in not much more time. Having said that, a workmate of mine who lives at Crook, Co. Durham who's just discovered Jet2, raves about LBA, he says he can be there in just over the hour, nearly as quickly as he can get to Newcastle. But imagine A650/M62 to Carr Gate/Lofthouse and then M1 to just north of Garforth. It would be quicker for your mate from Durham too as I suspect it takes him longer to get from Wetherby along the Wharfe Valley and up Poole bank as it does to get down the A1. I suspect that only those that live in NorthWest Leeds and the whole of North Bradford would be worse off in journey time by car were the airport be moved to the north east of Leeds.However location is key and they would want to utilise existing infrastructure if possible. Remembering that RobinHood was an ex RAF base until about 10 years ago Church Fenton is maybe a little too far from the road network http://goo.gl/maps/p6Hjv but I think Linton-on-ouse between York and Boroughbridge http://goo.gl/maps/PglrD and Elvington between York and Pocklinton http://goo.gl/maps/YZ0i9 are a little too far afield to be considered "Leeds"BTW Church Fenton is not OT as, if you read the small print, the official met office stats for Leeds used in BBC, and other forecasts, are taken from observations at Church Fenton which being rural and in a flood plain tends to have more fog and be colder than Leeds in the winter

anthonydna · Post by **anthonydna** » Tue 28 Jan, 2014 3:05 pm

I would pick east of Carlton , north side of the M62 J30 turn off.