Disgruntled commuters slam 'annoying messy' development outside Leeds Train Station

Student Abraham Muttai branded the development 'annoying'
-Credit: (Image: Samuel Port)


Disgruntled commuters have slammed the ‘annoying’ development which has been outside Leeds Train Station for more than a year, and isn’t due to be completed until January 2026.

Construction on the New Station Street development has been underway since May last year. It aims to pedestrianise the area outside the city centre station.

The £46.1m Sustainable Travel Gateway scheme will include: outdoor seating, rest areas, and landscaping; new sheltered taxi rank; a 21-passenger lift from Bishopgate Street; a cycle hub; and improved street lighting in the area.

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Commuters were generally supportive of the finished product but have grown exasperated with how long it is taking. The development has been called ‘annoying and a mess,’ mainly due to the phased construction areas changing where pedestrians can walk, leading to ‘confusion’ and difficulties for wheelchair users.

Leeds City Council admits the development has caused ‘some necessary and unavoidable disruption’ and has thanked people for their ‘patience and understanding’. The council has also issued an update on the works, what has been built and what is yet to come.

The £46.1m Sustainable Travel Gateway scheme development outside Leeds Train Station
The £46.1m Sustainable Travel Gateway scheme development outside Leeds Train Station -Credit:Samuel Port

Abraham Muttai, 28, based in Sheffield, uses the station every day as he’s studying an MA in Journalism at Leeds Beckett University. Abraham said: “It’s taking a long time. I’ve been coming on this route since last December. Every single time you come here, there’s a cordon on either side of the road. There’s a lot of confusion sometimes. It’s annoying. You get moved a lot when you’re trying to get somewhere.”

'A pain'

Wheelchair user Carol Roya, 69, said the ever-changing safe pedestrian walkways have been ‘a pain’ to navigate around, with her chair’s front wheels unable to go over the kerb in certain areas where it is positioned higher from the roadside.

Wheelchair user Carol Roy said the development was a 'mess'
Wheelchair user Carol Roy said the development was a 'mess' -Credit:Samuel Port

The grandma-of-three, who travels from Cookridge to the city centre every week, said: “It’s a mess. It’s very difficult. The path is lower down on one side, but I couldn’t go across to the other side as the path was too high, it’s not level with the road. You get one side that’s high and one side that isn’t, so you’re looking where to cross all the time.

“It does make it difficult. Sometimes, the only way I can get up is to turn around and go backwards, as I’ve got bigger wheels at the back. It’s always a pain. It has gone on for so long.”

'They should try to do this faster'

Gelson Costa travels to Leeds every week to visit his girlfiend
Gelson Costa travels to Leeds every week to visit his girlfiend -Credit:Samuel Port

Security guard supervisor Gelson Costa, 21, travels to Leeds every week from Manchester to visit his girlfriend. Gelson said: “It’s taking a long time, sometimes the road can be dangerous as cars come up the road even though there are cones down. You’ve got to pay attention. It makes me feel unsafe. They [the builders] should try to do this faster.”

“I’ve gotten used to it but it’s sometimes very inconvenient,” said Neil Middleburough, 44, a women’s shoe designer, who often commutes between Leeds and London. He had concerns for the look of the development. “It depends how beautiful it is, it looks kind of basic, but I hope it serves people well. It has to look good as it’s what people will see all the time.”

Council response and update

In response to the concerns, a Leeds City Council spokesperson said: "These major improvement works will provide a much more welcoming gateway between our station and city centre, offering a safer, cleaner and more people-friendly environment for everyone who travels between them.

The £46.1m Sustainable Travel Gateway scheme development outside Leeds Train Station
The £46.1m Sustainable Travel Gateway scheme development outside Leeds Train Station -Credit:Samuel Port

"We appreciate that the scale of these improvements has caused some necessary and unavoidable disruption, which we have worked to keep to a minimum, and we thank people for their patience and understanding."

So far, works have included the demolition of the former taxi rank, cycle hub and removal of the Mill Goit beams as well as footpath and highway improvements along New Station Street, Neville Street, Dark Neville Street, Swinegate and Bishopgate Street.

The works are being delivered in phases due to the complexity of the scheme, the constraints of the site and the requirement to maintain pedestrian and vehicle access to the station and businesses, added the council.

By the end of 2024 or early 2025, completed works will include the installation of the new Mill Goit beams, the newly formed walls to the cycle hub and lift shafts, and approximately 50 percent of the footway and highway works on New Station Street.

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