The West Yorkshire Combined Authority (WYCA) looks set to follow the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority in opening a compulsory purchase order process as contingency for the acquisition of some depots that will be used to deliver bus franchising from 2027.
Recommended approval to begin that process will go before a WYCA meeting on 24 July. As in the Liverpool City Region, commencement of the compulsory purchase order work is a contingency, with an expectation that commercial negotiations will result in the necessary depots passing into WYCA’s hands.
Under plans for bus franchising in West Yorkshire, depots used for larger contracts will be owned by WYCA to remove barriers to entry and increase competition among bidders. Papers published ahead of the 24 July meeting note that each of the nine franchising zones will have one such depot, with a capacity above its PVR to allow future growth.
WYCA is already engaged in negotiations with owners of existing depots and says that exercise is proceeding “positively.”
Nevertheless, given the importance of securing the bus depot estate, “it is incumbent on the Combined Authority to consider and maximise all available options to mitigate the risks of non-delivery and to provide a contingency plan should negotiations fail,” the papers add.
If approved by WYCA members, the compulsory purchase order process will thus run in parallel with existing negotiations.
WYCA says it has received legal advice “that confirms the availability of appropriate powers to purchase the land required to be used as bus depots for the purchase of delivering a franchising scheme,” notwithstanding that exercise of such powers requires government approval.
Adding a compulsory purchase order process could help to streamline existing negotiations with depot owners, the Combined Authority believes.
The procurement approach for bus franchising in West Yorkshire has seen the region divided into eight geographical areas. Of those, Leeds is further split, now into two zones against an original expectation of three.
Within each of the nine overarching zones, there will be a single Tier A lot typically located around a strategically important depot. “Numerous” Tier B smaller lots will also be present, as will Tier C home-to-school lots. Tiers B and C will be kept as simple as possible to reduce barriers for SME bidders, WYCA adds.
Franchising in the nine zones will be delivered across three rounds. The first of those – for the Heavy Woollen, Kirklees and one of the two Leeds zones – will see a tender launch in October ahead of the first franchised services starting in Q2 2027. Rollout across the region is due to be completed in Q4 2028.
