Communities on the east side of Leeds have been connected by a new pedestrian and cycle bridge which is now open to the public.

 

Skelton Bridge, a 23m ‘Warren truss’ style structure, crosses the River Aire at Skelton Lake and was built to encourage more people to take up active travel. Its £350,000 construction was funded by Leeds City Council and delivered by walking and cycling charity Sustrans.

 

“Improving access for cyclists is a key priority for the Council,” commented Leeds City Council executive member for regeneration, transport and planning Richard Lewis.

 

“This new bridge at Skelton Lake will mean cyclists and walkers on the Transpennine Trail can now cross the River Aire and will eventually link new residential and commercial developments in the area with the rest of the city.”

 

Sustrans worked with local community groups to develop the project, which included a five year approval process for planning permissions and consents from third party land owners, and technical approval for the plans.

 

The charity’s head of network development Mike Babbitt said: “In 2007 Leeds City Council inherited land from the former Coal Board with planning permission to build the cycle and footbridge. It was before cycle network development had begun in earnest in the city and there were few existing routes in the area.

 

“Since the idea for Skelton Bridge first came about the rest of the city’s cycle network has caught up.”

 

The bridge runs close to the ‘Transpennine Trail’ – a long distance route for cycling – and plans are now in place to link the structure to an existing cycle and walking route from Roundhay Park in the north of Leeds to Temple Newsman in the east.