Road plan set to progress after park path decision

A major road upgrade next to a public park is set to go ahead after councillors agreed to a footpath replacement scheme.

Land within Pontefract Park needed to be allocated "for highway purposes" so £12m of improvements to the A639 Park Road could be carried out later this year.

The work includes widening the road by incorporating the existing pedestrian footpath into the carriageway.

Wakefield Council's licensing committee members agreed to the proposals, which now go to the Charity Commission for formal approval.

A meeting heard Pontefract Racecourse is near some of the land earmarked for footpaths but would not be impacted by the development.

Tim Johnson, the council's green space and countryside manager, said the operators of the racecourse were supportive of the scheme.

Councillors were also told the project would involve the loss of a small number of trees, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

A report to committee members said: "The proposals entail diverting the existing footway which runs along the carriageway to go through the park instead.

"Rejecting this proposal would halt the progress of the scheme."

It is hoped the road project, which also included installing new crossings and creating cycle lanes, would ease congestion and shorten journey times.

The loss of land required for the project would "not significantly reduce the offer of the park as a whole," the report added.

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