Decision details

The Lancashire Strategic Transport Prospectus, launched in February 2016, acknowledges that there is growing interest in the east-west transport corridor linking Central Lancashire with North Yorkshire and the Leeds City Region.  The railway line from Gannow Junction east of Rose Grove to Colne previously continued to Skipton as a through route, but passenger services ceased in January 1970 and the track was removed.  If reinstated, services could continue through to Skipton and possibly to Leeds along the electrified Airedale Line, thereby significantly reducing journey times between Nelson and Colne and Leeds.

Following a 'summit' meeting held in Skipton on 6th January 2015, at the behest of the Department for Transport and the Skipton-East Lancashire Rail Action Partnership (SELRAP) and at the Department for Transport's request, the County Council along with colleagues from North Yorkshire County Council and the West Yorkshire and Greater Manchester combined authorities, established a working group, chaired by Lancashire County Council and with representation from SELRAP and other interested parties, to consider what purposes a rail link between Burnley, Colne and Skipton could potentially serve in order to place such a scheme in the correct context in transport planning terms.  The report of the working group is now complete.

The Burnley – Colne – Skipton Railway Conditional Outputs Statement sets out a series of conditional outputs that underline the wide variety of transport links to which reopening the Colne to Skipton line could potentially be relevant.  However, this does not necessarily mean that there is a strong case, either strategically or economically, for providing such a link.  The Statement concludes that further consideration of a reopened rail link between Colne and Skipton should take place in the context of strategic as opposed to local transport planning in order to ensure that all of the conditional outputs identified are taken into account.

County Councillor Jennifer Mein, the Leader of the County Council:

(i)  Noted the contents of this report; and

(ii)  Approved the Burnley – Colne – Skipton Railway Conditional Outputs Statement attached at Appendix 'A', for use by the County Council in future engagement with the Department for Transport, Transport for the North, Network Rail, the wider rail industry and other interested parties, and that the Statement enter the public domain.