Transport Insights

As the West Yorkshire Combined Authority (WYCA) continues to insist that there is nothing to see over the secret report into its mass transit plans, the man in charge of the project is leaving as it is kicked into the long grass.

In a post on LinkedIn beginning “Time to change direction”, Mike Birch, the authority’s mass transit director has said:

I have reached the very difficult decision to leave my position as Mass Transit Director at West Yorkshire Combined Authority.

Since joining the programme early last year, the focus has shifted from an accelerated delivery programme, to one following a more traditional sequential approach. The next few years will now be spent delivering the business case, a very different leadership focus. I am proud to have led this incredible transformative programme, with an amazing dedicated team.

I will be leaving in mid April, seeking my next challenge……

When someone leaves a senior post to seek a new challenge, it’s usually a sign that all is not well and in this case, as Birch notes, the project has been “resequenced” so that it will no longer try to do spatial planning with business case development.

This followed the “peer review” report from the National Infrastructure and Service Tranformation Authority (NISTA), which WYCA has refused to publish on the grounds that it would undermine public confidence in the programme.

Perhaps the departure of the man who at the helm when the ship hit the iceberg will help?