Connectivity will drive Pendle growth

Pendle Council is urging better east-west road and rail connectivity as the route towards boosting the area’s economy and is putting its case before the North’s transport chiefs.

That includes the reinstatement of the rail link between Colne to Skipton as part of improving connectivity in the ‘Central Pennines Corridor’.

The local authority is looking to respond to the Transport for the North (TfN) Draft Strategic Transport Plan which was launched in January.

And its message is that improved connectivity into Lancashire and Yorkshire is vital for the borough’s economic growth.

The Strategic Transport Plan sets out the case for investment in transport infrastructure up to 2050 to boost economic growth across the region.

A 13-week consultation on the Plan is running until April and Pendle Council says it will be putting forward a “detailed response”.

That response will particularly focus on the proposals to improve the Central Pennines Corridor.

Councillor Mohammed Iqbal, Leader of Pendle Council and its lead on economic regeneration, said: “Pendle has great opportunities for growth.

“Our response will focus on the Central Pennines Corridor and in particular the A56 Village Bypass, as well as the reinstatement of the railway line from Colne to Skipton, which will be part of a feasibility study.

 

[caption id="attachment_102597" align="alignnone" width="500"] Council leader Mohammed Iqbal[/caption]

 

“This would give us better east-west connectivity linking Pendle with Yorkshire as well as the rest of Lancashire, reaping economic benefits and boosting our prospects of economic growth.

“Improving our road and rail connectivity would be a significant step forward in making a real difference.

“Pendle would no longer be a cul-de-sac; it would become a corridor for economic growth!”

Improving east-west connectivity would build on recent improvements made to the Burnley-Pendle Growth Corridor motorway junctions.

At its executive meeting councillors agreed that Pendle Council should urge TfN to endorse the council’s views on the Department for Transport’s Strategic Road Network and the Major Road Network proposals.