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Community comes together to celebrate Silsden reopening

18 August was the official re-opening of a Leeds & Liverpool Canal section, following improvement works as part of a £2.9m package to boost cycling and walking in West Yorkshire.

Silsden reopening

The 2.7km section between Riddlesden and Silsden has been resurfaced, building on previous improvements from Kirkstall to Shipley and providing people with high quality, traffic-free cycling and walking routes.

The scheme is part of West Yorkshire Combined Authority's £60m CityConnect programme aimed at encouraging more people to cycle and walk.

Members of the local community were joined by John Grogan, MP for Keighley and Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group for the Waterways, Cllr Kim Groves, Chair of West Yorkshire Combined Authority's Transport Committee, Cllr Taj Salam, Cycling Champion at Bradford Council, and Mike Marshall, Customer Operations Manager at Canal & River Trust, the charity that cares for the Leeds & Liverpool Canal.

Cllr Kim Groves, Chair of the West Yorkshire Combined Authority's Transport Committee, said: "These improvements will provide people travelling by bike or on foot with safe, scenic traffic-free routes all year round.

"As well as providing missing links in local cycling and walking infrastructure, these improvements – alongside other schemes across the region – are helping open up access to some of our best countryside, including the Yorkshire Dales.

"Through our CityConnect programme, the Combined Authority is working in partnership to connect people to employment and opportunities, and encourage more of us to travel in a way which benefits our health, the environment and our economy."

The schemes are funded by the Department of Transport (DfT) and delivered by the Combined Authority's CityConnect programme in partnership with the Trust, the charity which cares for the Leeds & Liverpool Canal, and local authority partners.

Mike Marshall, customer operations manager at the Trust, said: "Yorkshire's canals are at the heart of communities across the region, making towpaths the ideal way for millions of people to enjoy a slice of fresh air in their daily lives. We're delighted to work with the West Yorkshire Combined Authority and local authority projects on these towpath improvement schemes, which will ensure residents and visitors can make the most of the canals all year round."

More improvements

Improvement on the Leeds & Liverpool Canal, which is part of Sustrans' National Cycle Network, is one of four canal towpath schemes across West Yorkshire.

The Calder & Hebble Navigation towpath between Sowerby Bridge and Hollas Lane Bridge recently re-opened following improvement works.

Works are currently underway between Huddersfield and Milnsbridge on the Huddersfield Narrow Canal towpath, while the Rochdale Canal is to benefit from improvements to create a 10km route linking Sowerby Bridge to Mytholmroyd and Hebden Bridge.

A further £1.5m of funding from the Department for Transport (DfT), announced earlier this summer, will see this extend to Todmorden.

Find out how CityConnect can help you, your business, school or community cycle and walk more at www.cyclecityconnect.co.uk.

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Last Edited: 21 August 2018

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