Vital £2.5m funding to repair Park Road due by the end of April

Around £1.8 million towards the cost of repairing Park Road, which links Brighouse and Elland, is expected to be funded from the Getting Building fund, administered by the West Yorkshire Combined Authority, of which Calderdale Council is a member.

At its last meeting, the authority’s West Yorkshire and York Investment Committee approved progressing the scheme to final business case with costs stage and gave its indicative approval to spend once it has reached that point.

The road was closed after a landslip when Storm Ciara struck Calderdale in February last year.

The damage caused was extensive, with the main landslip extending around 50 metres along Park Road with the repair described by the council as being a “complex” one.

Funding the repair included the council pressuring the Environment Agency and the Government but the solution is set to include the Getting Building fund money plus £700,000 from the council.

Providing the final approval is given, work can begin and the meeting heard the forecast completion date for it would be August 2.

Caroline Coy, who is the project manager for the scheme at WYCA, said the cost to benefit ratio showed the scheme was “very high value for money.”

Coun Jane Scullion (Lab, Luddenden Foot), Calderdale representative on the committee, said she hoped it would be supported – “it is very, very important to Calderdale,” she said.

Having heard the scheme would save journey time and help lower carbon emissions by reducing congestion, members gave their approval.