Hundreds of trees to be planted as part of Ainley Top woodland plan

Plans to improve the A629 between Ainley Top and Huddersfield Ring Road are progressing, as Kirklees Council submits a planning application for the scheme.

The planning application requests permission to improve and widen the A629 and will be open to comments from the public in the coming weeks. The works include junction improvements, re-positioning of footways, new pedestrian crossings, and replacement of street lighting, as well as changing the use of land to highway and creating residential permit holder car parking at Edgerton Cemetery and land adjoining 103 Halifax Road.

The scheme is part of a wider package of improvements, along the A629 between Huddersfield and Halifax that Kirklees Council, in partnership with Calderdale Council and the West Yorkshire Combined Authority, are delivering with funding from the West Yorkshire plus transport fund.

As part of the works, the council is planting over 700 trees to create a significant new woodland at Ainley Top, and replacing any trees lost during the works with healthy, mature replacements.

Councillor Kim Groves, West Yorkshire Combined Authority Transport Committee, said: “Our vision for transport goes beyond getting people from A to B. It’s about getting all of us – our people, our communities, our businesses – to where we want to be as a region efficiently and safely.”

The overarching A629 scheme aims to encourage economic growth by improving access to Halifax and Huddersfield from the M62. It will also provide the infrastructure for faster, improved bus journeys between Halifax and Huddersfield.

Dedicated cycle and pedestrian routes, as part of the wider package of improvements, will make it safer and more pleasant to take up active travel to places along the route, and connect the road to other schemes councils are developing across the region.

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