Stourton Park & Ride

Stourton Park & Ride

Building the first fully solar-powered park and ride in the UK.

Stourton park and ride became operational on 6 September 2021. Find out more about the park and ride sites in Leeds here: https://www.wymetro.com/park-and-ride .

Stourton park and ride has been made possible by funds obtained from the Department for Transport to develop Leeds’ Public Transport Investment Programme, together with a grant that was awarded by the European Regional Development Fund to create a smart energy grid on site using sustainable technology. The site will be the first fully solar-powered park and ride site in the UK and will be served by an electric bus fleet that will run daily.

There will be 26 fast electric vehicle charging ports and 4 rapid chargers – totalling of 30 EV charging spaces.

Benefits of Stourton park and ride

• Forms a key part of the Connecting Leeds Transport Strategy for everyone to enjoy healthy, affordable, low carbon travel choices and transform travel in Leeds for people who live, work in and visit the city

• Forms part of a wider strategy to deliver improvements to the bus network between Wakefield and Leeds via Stourton and Hunslet, giving people real travel choices by making bus services quicker and more reliable, whilst also making local journeys on foot and by cycle convenient and attractive

• Access to employment and training opportunities along Hunslet Road and Leeds city centre

• Create a more people-focused city: fewer cars on the streets, more space for people, creating more healthy and liveable streets.

• Direct access from the M621 Motorway, A61 Wakefield Road and A639 Leeds Road to Pontefract Road.

• Access to more frequent bus services for those living within walking distance of the site.

• A new bus lane along Wakefield Road past the site to help deliver quicker and more reliable services for existing bus users travelling to Leeds from places like Robin Hood, Carlton, Rothwell, Oulton, Woodlesford, Lofthouse and Wakefield

• The site has 1,200 spaces, including dedicated disabled, family and motorcycle bays.

• Secure cycle storage to help promote ‘cycle and ride’, with better routes for cyclists linking the site to Middleton and Belle Isle

• Zero emission electric buses will serve the site every 10 to 15 minutes from early morning into the evening

• Electric vehicle charging points will promote zero emission car use

• Plans for the site include solar panels, a ‘green wall’ lined with deciduous plants and facilities such as a changing places toilet and a retail space

• Over 11,000 trees planted in the landscaping areas in and around the park and ride site

These visuals of the park & ride site show what it will look like once construction has finished, but also how different it will look in the future, once the extensive landscaping has had time to mature.

View from Parnaby Road

The existing public right of way through the field, will still be available to use. In addition to this, there will be new footpaths around the park and ride facility that will link to Parnaby Road, Middleton Road and Ring Road Middleton.
There are cycle links designed for people using the A61 & A639 who wish to avoid using the M621 J7 motorway junction at Stourton roundabout and connect with Middleton, Belle Isle and the surrounding local area.

Park and ride Overview

The park & ride facility will be surrounded by trees to offset against those removed during construction. This scheme boasts a 54:1 tree replacement ratio and has been sensitive to the existing green infrastructure corridors in the area, to ensure flora and fauna can still co-exist alongside the existing transport links. Internal landscaping also includes trees in the central area, planters and hedges which break up sections of the car park and a building which incorporates a green roof and a green wall. The “green” credentials also apply to some of the technology used in the facility – solar panels, LED lighting; electric vehicle charge points, and electric buses serving the P&R site. This all goes to ensure this development has a low carbon footprint, now and in the future.

View from M621 Motorway

The park and ride facility will be surrounded by trees to offset against those removed during construction. It’s difficult to completely mask the view from the motorway, but the local road network will be less affected and the local neighbourhood will benefit most.

View from Hunslet Cemetery

The park and ride facility sits in a dip, next to Hunslet Cemetery, which will mask parked cars from view. Two years ago trees were planted to fill gaps and thicken up the tree line alongside the cemetery boundary. This landscape buffer has been bolstered by more recent tree planting which all goes towards ensuring the tranquillity of the cemetery is not compromised.

View from Middleton Road Roundabout

To ensure the park and ride is easily accessible to locals, new pedestrian and cycle tracks have been provided to link directly into the heart of the facility. At Middleton Road, this new footpath has been provided through a previously overgrown and inaccessible area which will benefit from more attractive greenery as well as being conveniently close to a local bus stop.

View from Middlecroft Estate

Some properties on the Middlecroft estate overlook the park and ride site. Extensive landscaping around the site including tree planting on raised banks will screen the facility from these residentials and from Middleton Ring Road. These landscaping proposals will also help to mask the traffic using the A61/A639 & M621, currently visible in the distance. Once the construction works are complete, the site compound area, currently accessible via Middleton Ring Road, will be reinstated and grassed over. The horses can continue to graze in the fields they currently occupy