The Department agreed in July 2020 to fund two feasibility studies looking at options for the future of the tunnel. The first, led by Highways England, is examining what would need to be done and how much it would cost to return the tunnel to a safe and usable condition. The second, led by the City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council, is looking at options for greenway routes between Bradford and Halifax, both including and excluding the tunnel, so that the relative costs and benefits of each can be considered. A steering group comprising the Department for Transport, Highways England, and the relevant local authorities is overseeing the studies, both of which are due to be complete by the spring and will inform any future decision on the future of the tunnel.

The Department has agreed to provide up to £1 million for two studies to inform a decision on possible future uses of the tunnel. The studies are considering what would need to be done, and how much it would cost, to return the tunnel to a safe and usable condition, as well as options for possible new cycling and walking routes in the area. The work is being overseen by a steering group comprising representatives from the Department for Transport, Highways England, the West Yorkshire Combined Authority, the City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council and Calderdale Metropolitan Borough Council. Both studies are due to be complete by March 2021.

The Active Travel Fund has made £225M available to local authorities in two tranches, to allow them to provide safer walking and cycling measures to support a green recovery in response to Covid-19. Alongside the funding, the Government published additional Network Management Duty guidance. This clearly sets out what the Government expects local authorities to do in making changes to their road layouts to encourage cycling and walking.

The guidance sets out that local authorities should monitor and evaluate any temporary measures they install, such as pop-up cycle lanes, with a view to making them permanent, and embedding a long-term shift to active travel as we move from restart to recovery. This may include adjusting temporary schemes in the light of feedback from stakeholders.

The current phase of safety works by Highways England contractors at Queensbury Tunnel are being delivered to ensure their safe access to the high-risk zone. This phase of works would not be prejudicial to any future reopening of the tunnel.

The subsequent phase of safety works, scheduled for early July 2020, will involve the creation of a concrete plug below shaft 3 to strengthen the base of the shaft and prevent collapse and is essential to protect the public. These works would make it more difficult to reopen the tunnel in future, but conditions around the base of shaft 3 represent a high-risk environment to contractors due to water levels in excess of 3.5 meters and active deterioration of the tunnel lining in that area.

Highways England Contractors are now on site for planned safety works to prevent the Queensbury Tunnel from collapsing. Concurrently the Department is assessing the feasibility of the Queensbury Tunnel scheme based on safety and affordability.

The Department for Transport has invested £210 million in the Cycle Ambition Cities programme, which to date has delivered 155 miles of new segregated cycle routes, 186 miles of new on-road and off-road routes for cyclists and pedestrians, and 136 miles of off-road cycling signage and resurfacing improvements across eight cities. The Department has also recently announced investment of £22 million to upgrade 32 routes, totalling 103 miles, along the National Cycle Network (NCN) to improve connectivity, accessibility and increase functional journeys.

The Department for Transport has appointed a firm of consultant chartered surveyors to assess the future of the tunnel. The terms of reference of the consultant appointment include discussing with the local authority a possible transfer to them. Pending receipt of that report no firm conclusion concerning the tunnel has yet been made by the Department. However Highways England, who maintain the tunnel on behalf of the Department, reserve the right to take such action as is, in their professional view, necessary on the grounds of public safety.