Politics Home | Leeds Tram Plan Was Working To “Unrealistic Milestones”, Secret Government Report Warned

Concept illustration of the West Yorkshire Mass Transit scheme (Credit: West Yorkshire Combined Authority)

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The Labour mayor of West Yorkshire has repeatedly promised to get “spades in the ground” by 2028. But the project’s timeline was delayed following a September 2025 audit by the Cabinet Office and Treasury.  

The confidential ‘peer review’, obtained by The House magazine, warned that the mass transit scheme was being driven by a “political agenda rather than a recognised programmatic approach”.

It added that “options appraisal for investment, robust project planning and risk management are critical ingredients for successful delivery and should not be compromised for unrealistic milestones”.

There was a risk of “political embarrassment”, it cautioned, “if there was a large disconnect between a lauded ‘spades in the ground’ date and the start of actual work,” and it said that money could be wasted: “The risk of nugatory spend is high.”

The review, conducted by the National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority (NISTA), also found that not enough work had been done to prove why the scheme needed trams rather than buses.

The paper’s authors were “concerned” about the West Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority’s (WYCA) “lack of unbiased thinking” on this question, adding: “There is a need to build the case for trams which has not been completed. 

“This is particularly important because the likely cost of a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) mode is significantly less than for trams and the BRT benefits:cost ratio is significantly better.”

Following the review, mass transit services have been delayed from the mid-2030s to the late 2030s. WYCA has said spades will still go in the ground in 2028, but for “preparatory” works rather than laying tracks. 

A WYCA spokesperson said: “Beginning preparatory construction works by 2028 has been an ambition for the combined authority for some time because the people of West Yorkshire have waited long enough for this investment…

“NISTA’s predecessor body, the National Infrastructure Commission, set out clearly in 2023 that Leeds needs a tram. A review at this stage of a project of this scale is completely normal, and the majority of its recommendations have already been addressed by the combined authority.” 

The Department for Transport said the government “fully supports Mayor Brabin’s ambitions for a world-class mass transit system for West Yorkshire”, adding: “We look forward to receiving West Yorkshire Combined Authority’s initial business case for the project later this year.”

A feature on the West Yorkshire Mass Transit project will be published in the next edition of The House magazine and online next week.