The Saltaire Bypass - Frequently Asked Questions


What plans are there for a Saltaire bypass?

Bradford Council currently are pursuing a design for a bypass which will connect from Saltaire Road (roughly where the car-wash is now), run alongside the railway line until it meets the village and go underground roughly where the children's playground is at the bottom of Baker Street. A tunnel will carry the bypass beneath the allotments, under the railway station and the church, to emerge beside the canal. It will follow the canal towards Hirst Wood, cross Hirst Lane by the lock and veer up across the current playing filed, across the railway line, through the Woodland Garden of Rest at Nab Wood cemetery, to meet Bingley Road before the Bingley bypass. Go here to see a map of this proposed route. The route was shown to local residents by Steve Barton at a Neighbourhood Forum meeting at the Methodist church in May 2007 after being first shown at the launch of Action Airedale. Mr Barton explained that the plans were currently at 'concept stage'.


Who are 'Action Airedale'?

Action Airedale is a lobby group formed by Conservative Councillor Anne Hawkesworth to lobby the regional Transport Board and national government to back schemes (mainly road building but not uniquely so) and make additional monies available. The Saltaire bypass is currently one of their flagship schemes. Go here for more information.


What does 'concept stage' mean?

It means that there are currently no funds to build the bypass, and that these will only be forthcoming if the plans are proven to be feasible.


Are any alternative plans in progress?

Yes and no. No other bypass alternatives are being pursued. Councillor Hawkesworth has made it clear that the scheme is "the only one that the conservation advisers have not as yet objected to as they see its impact on the World Heritage Site as minimal". Previous plans for alternative bypass routes then have been abandoned as either too costly or at risk of causing unacceptable environmental damage. However, Councillor Hawkesworth has also stated that "The concept route recently published was intended to indicate that there may be an alternative to previous bypass proposals but, as indicated, its route is not fixed and it is not the only option which needs to be considered". Steve Barton added: "the recent tunnel concept is not the only option which will have to be evaluated and alternatives to having a bypass at all will have to be considered as part of the evaluation."


Will this plan involve the removal of the children's playground on Baker Street, the allotments by the railway and the playing fields by Hirst Lane?

The current plan as described could not go ahead without removing these.


Isn't Saltaire protected on the same UNESCO World Heritage site list as the Taj Mahal, the Houses of Parliament, Notre-Dame Cathedral, the Acropolis and the Pyramids?

Yes.

What do UNESCO think about the plans to build a bypass through this protected site?

Nobody yet knows. The council haven't yet seen fit to contact UNESCO. Philip Davies (MP for Shipley and member of Action Airedale) has however stated that he "will not support any bypass which threatens the status of the World Heritage Site, and I will not support any plans which I think would negatively affect the World Heritage Site". He maintains nonetheless a position of support for the bypass.


Isn't the World Heritage Site protected by a buffer zone? What is the buffer zone for?

The buffer zone extends a mile around Saltaire and covers 1078 hectares (the village, then, is less than 2% of the whole area). You can see the buffer zone as a pale blue line on this map. The buffer zone, according to Bradford Council's own management plan "has been determined on the basis of Saltaire’s visual envelope. It will extend over a total area of 1078 hectares to afford additional controls over future development and landscape changes that may affect the views into Saltaire, and the important views out of the village to the countryside beyond" and "protects Saltaire from development pressures that may do harm to its significance." The landscape changes in the proposed bypass plans will alter the view of the village from inside Salts Mill, and from Shipley Glen down into the village, to name but two obvious visual impacts. To understand the noise impact on the village, take a walk up the canal to where it gets close to the Bingley bypass, which won awards for dampening noise, and see if you think that level of noise acceptable. Other World Heritage sites have been put on the 'at risk' list by UNESCO as a result of development in the buffer zone.Go here to access the management plan.


What is the status of Hirst Wood?

Hirst Wood is classified as 'Ancient and Semi-Natural Woodland'. The strip of woodland that fringes the Bingley Road is also designated this way. English Nature states that ancient semi-natural woods are irreplaceable, and must  be protected and managed so as to maintain and enhance their special character. Government policies (as set out in the 1994 Sustainable Forestry document) are to operate a general presumption against the conversion of woodland and trees to  other use, and to protect our ancient and semi-natural woodlands. The England Forestry Strategy (1998) states that the government will review the effectiveness of measures for protecting ancient semi-natural woodland  and if necessary introduce new measures for giving them added protection. The UK Biodiversity Action Plan (1994) states as Step 25 a commitment to continue to protect ancient semi-natural woodland and encourage forms of  management which conserve their special characteristics. In 2002 Bradford council's 'Woodland Strategy' was updated to plainly "refuse" (as opposed to the previous "resist") development proposals that threaten Ancient Semi Natural Woodland.


Isn't the canal protected?

The Leeds-Liverpool canal has conservation areas. According to Bradford Council's own information sheet: "In terms of the Leeds-Liverpool Canal Conservation Area, the most important buildings in Saltaire Conservation Area are those which can be seen from the towpath. The domed round columned tower of the Grade I Listed Saltaire United Reform Church is visible from Hirst Lock and the grounds of Salts Sports Association. This attractive feature of the skyline is the first indication that the canal is getting closer to Saltaire." If the bypass is built, the council will need to add "Saltaire United Reform Church is visible from Hirst Lock, above the gaping tunnel opening and the road carrying traffic towards Bingley"


What regulations exist regarding tunnels?

Directive 2004/54/EC entered into force on 30 April 2004 and requires that all tunnels longer than 500 meters meet minimum safety requirements. In order to fully respect the integrity of the World Heritage Site, the proposed tunnel beneath it must submerge and emerge at points that indicate its length will meet or exceed 500 metres. Paragraph 2.1.2 of Annex 1 of the directive makes it clear that "... where, for tunnels at the design stage, a 15-year forecast shows that the traffic volume will exceed 10 000 vehicles per day per lane, a twin-tube tunnel with unidirectional traffic shall be in place at the time when this value will be exceeded." Statistics from the Highway Agency indicate that this traffic volume is already in place. ("Traffic volumes of around 28,000 vehicles per day (vpd) are shown on both sections of the A650 Bingley Relief Road" and "On the A650, south of the bypass, traffic volumes have increased from 29,300 vpd to 35,100 vpd, an increase of 5,800 vpd or 20"). A twin-tube tunnel will require a breadth of construction that is not permitted by the limitations of the current proposed sites of submergence and emergence of the proposed tunnel. This twin-tube requirement will also significantly boost the already conservative estimated cost of the bypass. In spite of this very clear legal requirement - the council's feasibility study is for a single tunnel under the station and church, and not two." Councillor Hawkesworth explains: "European directives and national regulations setting out safety requirements will be complied with in the design of any tunnel forming part of proposals for a Saltaire Bypass.  [...] the traffic volumes which might be carried by any tunnel have not yet been forecast as they would depend on the route proposed and any demand management measures incorporated.  It is, therefore too early to say whether single or twin bores would be appropriate for any tunnelling solution which might be pursue."