Wharfedale Greenway

Wharfedale Greenway
Wharfedale Greenway
	Bridge over the abandoned railway cutting in Otley, to become part of the greenway
Established	2020
Length	6.7 mi (10.8 km)
Location	Wharfedale, West Yorkshire, England
Trailheads	Burley in Wharfedale (west) to Pool in Wharfedale (east)
Use	Cycling, pedestrians, horses
Trail map

Last updated April 12, 2022

The Wharfedale Greenway is a proposed cycleway, footpath and equestrian route which will run along the route of the former Otley and Ilkley Joint Railway between Burley in Wharfedale and Pool in Wharfedale via Otley, West Yorkshire, England. The railway previously connected the extant Wharfedale and Harrogate lines until its closure in 1965. It will also have a branch southwards towards Menston alongside the remaining railway to Ilkley. The rail trail has been planned by Sustrans and the parish councils along the route since 2010 and was approved by Leeds City Council in July 2020.

History

The 6+1⁄2-mile (10 km) Otley and Ilkley Joint Railway was opened to passenger traffic on 1 August 1865, and ran for almost 100 years before partial closure in July 1965 when the line to Otley closed. Today passenger Leeds to Ilkley Wharfedale line services still run over the rest of the line.^[1] The track was lifted in 1966, and though the closed route forms an unsurfaced footpath along some sections, much of the eastern part between Otley and Pool is publicly inaccessible private farmland.^[2]

A feasibility study for a cycleway was prepared by Sustrans in 2010 for Otley Town Council. However, substantial cuts in public funding coincided with the 2010 report, leaving Leeds City Council unable to take the proposals forward while still completing work on urban sections of the city's cycle network.^[2] Renewed interest was stimulated in 2013 by the announcement that the Grand Départ of the 2014 Tour de France would take place in Leeds city centre. A steering group consisting of Otley Town Council, Burley, Pool, and Menston parish councils, Leeds and Bradford City Councils, and Sustrans was established to create a safe walking and cycling route linking the parishes. The 2010 report's recommendation to put forward the old railway corridor, to be named the Wharfedale Greenway, was then adopted.^[2]

A subsequent consultation exercise then demonstrated sizable local support (

Otley Town Council submitted an application for full planning permission for change of use of disused railway to form a traffic-free path including construction of a bridge over Bradford Road, in February 2020, relating to the first phase between Burley and Otley. The local planning authority, Leeds City Council, considered that the greenway was "expected to be a very valuable asset to the local communities" and "would help tackle severance problems by providing cycling and pedestrian access between the settlements on the route which is currently severed by major roads such as the A660, A65 and A6038." The application was approved in July 2020, allowing construction to begin of a 3 m (9.8 ft) wide tarmac footway alongside a 2 m (6.6 ft) equestrian track.^[5]

Further phases envisaged include:^[6]

Phase 2: Otley to Pool
Phase 3: Link with Menston
Phase 4: Burley to Ilkley and Addingham link and onwards to Bolton Bridge

Related Research Articles

Guiseley is a town in metropolitan borough of the City of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is situated south of Otley and Menston and is now a north-western suburb of Leeds.

Otley is a market town and civil parish at a bridging point on the River Wharfe, in the City of Leeds metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, the population was 13,668 at the 2011 census. It is in two parts: south of the river is the historic town of Otley and to the north is Newall, which was formerly a separate township. The town is in lower Wharfedale on the A660 road which connects it to Leeds.

Ilkley Town and civil parish in West Yorkshire, England

Ilkley is a spa town and civil parish in the City of Bradford in West Yorkshire, in Northern England. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, Ilkley civil parish includes the adjacent village of Ben Rhydding and is a ward within the City of Bradford. Approximately 12 miles (19 km) north of Bradford and 17 miles (27 km) north-west of Leeds, the town lies mainly on the south bank of the River Wharfe in Wharfedale, one of the Yorkshire Dales.

Wharfedale is the valley of the upper parts of the River Wharfe and one of the Yorkshire Dales. It is situated within the districts of Craven and Harrogate in North Yorkshire, and the cities of Leeds and Bradford in West Yorkshire. It is the upper valley of the River Wharfe. Towns and villages in Wharfedale include Buckden, Kettlewell, Conistone, Grassington, Hebden, Bolton Abbey, Addingham, Ilkley, Burley-in-Wharfedale, Otley, Pool-in-Wharfedale, Arthington, Collingham and Wetherby. Beyond Wetherby, the valley opens out and becomes part of the Vale of York.

The Wharfedale line is one of the rail services in the West Yorkshire Metro area of northern England. The service connects Ilkley with Leeds and Bradford, and is operated by Northern Trains. West Yorkshire Metrocards are available for use on the line, covering Zones 3–5. The line is served predominantly by four-coach Class 333 electric multiple units.

Guiseley railway station is a railway station in Guiseley, in the City of Leeds metropolitan borough, West Yorkshire, England. On the Wharfedale Line between Ilkley and Leeds/Bradford Forster Square, it is served mostly by Class 333 electric trains run by Northern Trains, which also manages the station.

Menston is a village and civil parish in the City of Bradford in the county of West Yorkshire, England. Along with Burley in Wharfedale, most of Menston is within Wharfedale Ward in the metropolitan borough of Bradford. The remainder of Menston is in the Leeds City Council area. As of the 2011 Census it has a population of 4,498.

Menston railway station is a railway station in Menston, in the City of Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. On the Wharfedale Line between Ilkley and Leeds/Bradford Forster Square, it is served by Class 331 and 333 electric trains run by Northern Trains, who also manage the station.

Burley-in-Wharfedale railway station serves the village of Burley in Wharfedale in West Yorkshire, England, in the City of Bradford. The station lies on the Wharfedale Line between Ilkley and Leeds/Bradford Forster Square. It is served by Class 333 units run by Northern Trains, who also manage the station.

Ilkley railway station is a railway station in Ilkley, in the City of Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. On the Wharfedale Line, it is served by Class 333 electric trains run by Northern Trains, which also manages the station.

Burley in Wharfedale is a village and a civil parish in the City of Bradford in West Yorkshire, England. It is situated in the Wharfedale valley.

The A660 is a major road in the Leeds and Bradford districts of West Yorkshire, England that runs from Leeds city centre to Burley-in-Wharfedale where it meets the A65. The A660 is approximately 10 miles (16 km) long, and crosses the watershed from Airedale to lower Wharfedale. For most of its length the road is in the metropolitan district of the City of Leeds; the last 0.4 miles (0.6 km) is in City of Bradford district.

St Mary's Menston Catholic Voluntary Academy is an 11–18 mixed, Roman Catholic, secondary school and sixth form with academy status in Menston, West Yorkshire, England. It was established in 1964 and adopted its present name after becoming an academy on 1 March 2013. It is part of The Bishop Wheeler Catholic Academy Trust and is located in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Leeds.

Otley railway station was a railway station serving the town of Otley in West Yorkshire, England.

Pool-in-Wharfedale railway station was a railway station serving the village of Pool-in-Wharfedale in West Yorkshire, England. It was opened by the North Eastern Railway (NER) as part of a branch line constructed to link the line between Leeds and Harrogate with a new joint line, the Otley and Ilkley Joint Railway that the NER was building in conjunction with the Midland Railway. The station operated for 100 years, being opened in 1865 and closing as part of the Beeching cuts in March 1965. The station's name appeared as Pool in earlier Bradshaws, but changed to Pool-in-Wharfedale by the October 1931 issue.

Burley Woodhead is a hamlet in the City of Bradford, in West Yorkshire, England. The hamlet is 1 mile (1.6 km) to the south-west of Burley in Wharfedale and is approximately 3 miles (5 km) from the spa town of Ilkley. Burley Woodhead comprises chiefly of a small cluster of farms and homes along the road from Ilkley to Guiseley at the foot of Burley Moor, though the village is at 560 feet (170 m) above sea level, with the moor being some 1,300 feet (400 m) above sea level. The local public house is The Hermit.

Otley bus station serves the town of Otley, West Yorkshire, England.

The Otley and Ilkley Joint Railway was a railway line running between the towns of Otley and Ilkley in West Yorkshire. The line was managed and run jointly by the Midland Railway (MR) and the North Eastern Railway (NER) and was 6+1⁄2 miles (10 km) long. Opened to passenger traffic on 1 August 1865 and freight traffic some months later, the line ran for almost 100 years before partial closure in July 1965 when the line to Otley closed. Today passenger services run over the rest of the line as part of the West Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive (WYPTE) Wharfedale Line.

The High Royds Hospital Railway was a short railway connecting the West Riding County Asylum near Leeds in West Yorkshire with the Midland Railway line between Menston and Guiseley on the Otley and Ilkley Joint Railway. The line opened in 1883 and ran for just over 0.5 miles (0.80 km), it was constructed to 4 ft 8+1⁄2 instandard gauge and was a single line throughout. The line closed in the 1930s in the face of road competition and increasing maintenance costs but reopened again in 1939 when the outbreak of war led to a fuel shortage for road transport. Final closure came in 1951.

References

↑ Smith, F W; Bairstow, Martin (1992). The Otley and Ilkley Joint Railway. Halifax: Martin Bairstow. ISBN 1-871944-06-6.
1 2 3 "Wharfedale Greenway Feasibility Study" (PDF). May 2014. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 October 2020.
↑ "Wharfedale Greenway Consultation Executive Summary" (PDF). Otley Town Council. June 2014. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 October 2020.
↑ "Wharfedale Greenway Feasibility Study" (PDF). November 2017. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 October 2020.
↑ Planning Services (July 2020). Report of the Chief Planning Officer (Report). Leeds City Council. Application 19/01217/FU.
↑ "Wharfedale Greenway". Burley in Wharfedale Parish Council. January 2019. Archived from the original on 23 January 2020. Retrieved 1 October 2020.

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[Smith&Bairstow-1] Smith, F W; Bairstow, Martin (1992). The Otley and Ilkley Joint Railway. Halifax: Martin Bairstow. ISBN 1-871944-06-6.

[feasibility2014-2] 1 2 3 "Wharfedale Greenway Feasibility Study" (PDF). May 2014. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 October 2020.

[consultation2014-3] "Wharfedale Greenway Consultation Executive Summary" (PDF). Otley Town Council. June 2014. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 October 2020.

[feasibility2017-4] "Wharfedale Greenway Feasibility Study" (PDF). November 2017. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 October 2020.

[lcc-2020-5] Planning Services (July 2020). Report of the Chief Planning Officer (Report). Leeds City Council. Application 19/01217/FU.

[6] "Wharfedale Greenway". Burley in Wharfedale Parish Council. January 2019. Archived from the original on 23 January 2020. Retrieved 1 October 2020.

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