Passengers using New Pudsey Rail station are set to benefit from improved car parking facilities, thanks in part to £710k of funding from Metro, approved today.

At today's meeting, the West Yorkshire Integrated Transport Authority Executive Board approved the funding as part of a £1.14m scheme which will add 176 new car parking spaces and make junction improvements on Owlcotes Lane.

"I am delighted that the Authority has approved funding towards this scheme," said Metro Chairman Cllr James Lewis.

"New Pudsey Rail Station is an important stop on a key commuter route between Bradford and Leeds and the extra places will extend the existing car park by almost two-thirds encouraging more people to change from car to train and relieving pressure on busy routes between our two cities."

Ticket office

Additional funding will also come from Leeds City Council and from Northern, through the Station Commercial Project Facility (SCPF), a joint fund of the Department for Transport, Network Rail and the Association of Train Operating Companies. And Metro and Northern have bid for funding from the National Station Improvement Plan (NSIP) to improve the existing ticket office and pick-up/drop-off point ain the car park.

Leeds City Council will deliver the junction improvements while the car park extension will be delivered by Northern, and follows on from other successful car park extension schemes at Todmorden, Sowerby Bridge and Crossflatts. If the funding and necessary approvals are in place by the end of the year, the car park extension and junction improvements could be completed by July 2013.