Strategic Outline Case due with government later in 2026; early works pledged for 2028; the official opening moved from the mid-2030s to the late 2030s in December 2025.
The current proposal is two tram lines: St James's Hospital through the city centre to White Rose, and Leeds to Bradford. The mayor's pledge to get 'spades in the ground' on early preparatory works by 2028 still stands, and the government has put £200m behind the planning work to 2027, with funding confirmed beyond 2032 as part of its £2.1bn Transport for City Regions fund.
What is actually due next is a business case, not a consultation. The Combined Authority is preparing the Strategic Outline Case — the first stage of the government's process — for submission later in 2026; an Outline Business Case follows if that is approved, and the next public consultation on the routes comes after government has approved both. So the honest answer to 'when do I get a say' is: not this year.
The opening date moved too. In December 2025, after a government review said the business case must be finished before planning work starts, the official line went from trams running in the mid-2030s to the late 2030s. Leeds has been here before — Supertram was cancelled in 2005, the trolleybus in 2016 — so treat every date on this card as published, not promised.