Demanding safer streets

It was great to see all of those in attendance at Leeds Civic Hall last night standing up to say ‘enough is enough’! Everything has to change! It has to change now, for everyone’s sake.

It is heartbreaking that it takes the tragic death of another woman, Sarah Everard, for those in power to finally start listening to the calls for change. It is a cruel reality that in 2021 we are still having to demand that women should be able to walk home safely and live without fear that they may be targeted because of their gender.

We are here to listen to you and we are here to push those in power to ensure that the streets of Headingley & Hyde Park and the city as a whole are as safe as we can make them.

Liberal Democrat MP Daisy Cooper has explained why she believes this must be a watershed moment here.

Hyde Park Picture House

Penny and Brandon have been out and about around the ward. It is great news that the Hyde Park Picture House restoration is shortly due to begin following the Covid-19 pause, having also secured additional funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund and the Culture Recovery Fund!

We’re looking forward to seeing the finished product, which will no doubt provide countless opportunities for the local community to enjoy great films and an improved community space.

Improving our local community hubs helps to keep the heart of our local community beating!

Headingley Neighbourhood Plan consultation

The Headingley Neighbourhood Plan Forum has developed a Neighbourhood Plan for our area through a process of consultation and discussion with local residents and businesses.

Now, the presubmission plan is open for formal consultation. The key documents and information on how to comment is available at this link.

The deadline for comments is 5pm on Tuesday 8 September. Please take this opportunity to have your say on Headingley’s future.

Leeds City Council Budget Day

Yesterday was Budget Day on Leeds City Council. The Liberal Democrat group brought a range of budget amendments to the table, putting a particular emphasis on the need to tackle climate change. Some of the key Liberal Democrat proposals were:

  • Set up a £3 million Leeds Climate Emergency Fund for citizen schemes to create a carbon neutral city
  • Introduce a city wide food waste collection service, & build an anaerobic digester to recycle more & use that waste to power Council vehicles.
  • End charges for replacement bins, bulky waste collection and DIY waste tax at Council tips to stop penalising people who want to get rid of waste responsibly.
  • Introduce the rollout of doorstep glass collection, as bottle banks exclude those without a car and the disabled.
  • Invest in a new children’s residential care home so less of our children are placed in care outside their home city.
  • Look into creating an employee owned foster care agency to rely less on expensive profit-motivated private sector agencies.
  • Look into a city centre workplace charging levy to fund public transport improvements
  • End car parking charges in Otley town centre to promote a free parking guarantee for all our district centres for better access to local shops.
  • Respond to local flooding risks posed by the city’s 1500 blocked gulleys and reduce the current 15 year backlog on gulley clearance by doubling the size of the response team.
  • Increase the city’s Forestry Team to tackle the treeworks backlog, and better prepare for massive tree planting in response to carbon reduction.
  • Employ an extra 9 civil enforcement officers dedicated to outer areas in response to the citywide rise in dog fouling and illegal parking.
  • Increase access to electric vehicles for households without driveways by installing 100 residential street charging points.
  • Enabling lower income households to access electric vehicles through piloting a community care share scheme.
  • Dedicate funding to look at introducing new train stations at Methley and Woodside Quarry to relieve pressure on nearby stations.
  • Transform community teams to better accommodate community social and cultural activity to reduce isolation and stimulate local economies.

We were disappointed to see Leeds’ Green councillors joining with the Labour and Tory parties to vote down our proposed Climate Change Fund.

Decision on the Elinor Lupton Centre still pending

Yesterday, Leeds City Council’s licensing sub-committee met to consider Wetherspoons’ application to turn the Elinor Lupton Centre into a pub. However, they were unable to make a decision on the day due to the amount of information related to the application. The Yorkshire Evening Post has reported that they hope to announce a decision about the plans next week.

The Elinor Lupton Centre is a landmark Headingley building, so whatever decision the licensing committee make, it will have a major impact on our community.

Special free school consultation

Leeds City Council is currently consulting on a proposal to create a new generic special free school under a free school presumption process from September 2021, providing approximately 150 places for pupils with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) aged 4-16 years. It is proposed that the special school would be located at Rose Court, Buckingham Road, Headingley. However this is dependent upon Leeds City Council acquiring the Rose Court site from its current owner, the Grammar School at Leeds.

You can access the consultation documents here and complete an on-line survey which you can use to put forward views on the proposal.

Two community drop-in events will take place during the consultation period, which runs until 16 December 2019.  These events will be attended by council officers from the school place planning and highways teams and will be open to anyone with an interest in the proposal, offering an opportunity to ask questions and share views.

Details of the drop-in events are as follows:

3 December 2019, 5:00pm – 6:30pm: Rose Court, Buckingham Road, Headingley, LS6 1BP.

11 December 2019, 3:00pm – 5:00pm: Leeds City Centre Hub, Merrion House, Merrion Way, Leeds LS2 8PD

Vote Liberal Democrats to Stop Brexit!

Today is polling day in the UK for the European Parliament elections. The Liberal Democrats have a clear and unambiguous message for these elections: vote Liberal Democrats to Stop Brexit!

All over Headingley, former Labour party voters are telling us they have had enough of Labour’s confused position on Brexit, and will be backing the Lib Dems this time. Please join them today to help us end this Brexit mess.

Campaigning to Stop Brexit in Headingley

This weekend, Liberal Democrat campaigners have been delivering leaflets and knocking on doors to speak to people about the European Parliament elections on 23rd May. Across the ward, people have told us that they like our clear, unambiguous Stop Brexit message, and will be supporting the Liberal Democrats in these elections.

If you’d like to read our manifesto for the European Parliament elections, click here.