McBains Consortium Appointed to West Yorkshire Mass Transit Programme

The McBains Consortium has been appointed to lead the Design and Placemaking Development Partner commission for the West Yorkshire Mass Transit programme, being developed by the West Yorkshire Combined Authority (WYCA).

With a population of 2.3 million and an economy of nearly £70 billion, West Yorkshire is the largest metropolitan area in Europe without an urban transit system.

The West Yorkshire Mass Transit Programme is a signature scheme of West Yorkshire’s devolution deal with government, which proposes to extend an integrated transport network across all parts of the Leeds city region, serving Leeds, Bradford, Wakefield, Kirklees and Calderdale.

The Design and Placemaking Development Partner Commission will support the Combined Authority in turning their mass transit vision into future-made designs that better connect West Yorkshire’s most important places, help combat climate change, support a green and inclusive recovery, and improve health and wellbeing for residents as part of re-balancing of the U.K. economy.

The McBains Consortium will be developing the design philosophy, place-making strategy and technical options feasibility work for all corridors on the network, focusing on deliverability and designs around key hotspots on the network and the proposed form of mass transit in each corridor.

The McBains Consortium, comprised of partners Jacobs, Pell Frischmann, Egis, re-form landscape architecture, Fore Consulting and Gattica Associates, was appointed through the Crown Commercial Services Project Management & Full Design Team Services Framework RM3741. Jacobs’ work as development partner and design lead on this transformational program will focus on ensuring feasible options are developed on all corridors to unlock the full scale of benefits such a system can bring to the region.

Clive Docwra, Managing Director of McBains, said: “We are delighted to have been appointed to this ambitious project being developed by the West Yorkshire Combined Authority. We are privileged to be part of helping shape a modern, state-of-the-art mass transit system for the region. It will mean a wholly better connected West Yorkshire and provide a real boost to the regional economy.”

Tom Gifford, Head of Mass Transit at the West Yorkshire Combined Authority, said: “This is an important commission for the West Yorkshire Combined Authority, especially as we continue to seek feedback around the West Yorkshire Mass Transit 2040 vision through the ongoing engagement on the West Yorkshire Connectivity Plan. Feedback on the Mass Transit vision is being sought via the website: https://www.westyorks-ca.gov.uk/connectivity/”