Yesterday evening the Headingley Liberal Democrat team went out on the doorsteps in the Ash Road area, speaking to local residents about the local elections coming up on May 5th.
Most people had already received their polling cards, and were looking forward to voting. We got a very positive response, with many residents wishing our candidate, Penny Goodman, good luck on the day.
Yesterday evening we spoke to residents in the Hessles area about their broadband services. Just like hundreds of people across Headingley and Hyde Park, they told us that they are paying big bills for high-speed broadband, but that their connections regularly slow to a crawl, or even cut out altogether.
We don’t think people should be paying for something they aren’t getting, so we are running a petition calling on the broadband providers to speed it up!
If you live in Headingley and Hyde Park and are affected by a poor broadband service, sign our petition here.
When we are out on the doorsteps in Headingley and Hyde Park, we often hear complaints from local residents about poor broadband connections. The providers offer super-fast speeds when people sign their contracts, but for hundreds of customers in Headingley and Hyde Park the reality is broadband that’s painfully slow, or even drops out altogether.
We don’t think people should be paying for something they aren’t getting, so we have launched a petition calling on the broadband providers to speed it up! It’s their responsibility to deliver what they promised – and if their infrastructure isn’t good enough to support the number of customers they have, they need to upgrade it.
We want to prove to the broadband providers just how many of their customers are feeling let down by this, so we have been out collecting signatures over the last few weeks – on the door-steps, in Leeds University Union and by phone. Everywhere, people have confirmed what we already thought – that this is a problem for almost everyone in our area; not just a few isolated households.
But to really make the broadband providers sit up and take notice, we still need more signatures. So if you live in the Headingley and Hyde Park area and have a slow broadband connection, please sign our petition today! Then share the link with your friends so that they can have their say too.
Here are some pictures from our campaign so far:
Collecting signatures on the door-steps.
Our Leeds University Union stall.
Speaking to people on the phones.
The Headingley Liberal Democrat team spoke to residents in The Turnways and Laurel Bank Court this evening.
We asked local people what issues were affecting the area, and found that several residents were concerned about overgrown vegetation and poor lighting in the alley-way between The Turnways and Headingley Stadium.
Another problem issue is thefts of Yorkshire stone paving slabs in nearby Headingley Avenue – one of the few roads on the opposite side of Kirkstall Lane which still has its original pavement. This is a common problem in Headingley, which is slowly eroding the character and heritage of the area. We will be working with Greg Mulholland MP to see what can be done about it.
Two weeks ago, residents on Wood Land and Alma Road told us that there was a lot of mess and rubbish around the recycling bins outside the Headingley Taps pub. We raised this with the council, and today they reported back that the mess has been cleaned, and measures put in place to ensure that regular cleaning now happens whenever the bins are emptied. Great news!
On the same evening, residents also raised concerns about the entrance to the Lupton student residences, where students often leave litter on the pavement while waiting for taxis, because there is no proper bin to put it in. We’re pleased to report that the management of the halls have now agreed to install a new bin at this location. The bin itself is yet to appear, though. We will be checking back regularly until it does!
Today, the Headingley Liberal Democrats met up opposite the Arndale Centre to speak to residents in the streets nearby, including Dennistead Crescent, Alma Cottages, Chapel Street and Ash Terrace.
On Chapel Street and Ash Terrace in particular, almost everyone we spoke to was deeply unhappy about the situation with their green bins. They said that collections have been stopped as part of the Labour council’s pilot scheme to remove dedicated recycling in the area and use automatic sorting instead to filter out recyclable material from black bins. But the old, empty green bins have not been removed, and are now causing a serious blockage on the pavement. Meanwhile, one resident asked several times for opt-in recycling bags, but has received nothing.
After we had finished speaking to the residents, Penny Goodman took some pictures of the problem:
That’s all on one street – and not a very long one, either! No wonder residents are feeling fed up.
This evening Penny Goodman and the Lib Dem team spoke to residents on the doorsteps on Wood Lane and Alma Road. These are some of the surveys they completed, telling us their priorities and concerns.
Several residents were unhappy about the number of cars which drive the wrong way along Alma Road – supposedly a one-way street. We also heard about two areas regularly affected by litter: the recycling bins in front of the Headingley Taps, and the Alma Road entrance to the Lupton student residences, where there is currently no bin, and students often leave litter on the pavement while waiting for taxis.
We will be working on all these issues, and will report back here with any progress.
Penny Goodman and the Headingley Liberal Democrat team were out on the doorsteps in Spring Bank Crescent, The Poplars and Orville Gardens this evening. We spoke to residents about their local concerns, and asked them to fill out a survey showing their priorities for the area.
Residents in this part of Headingley were particularly concerned about Leeds Labour Council’s plans to build a trolley-bus along Headingley Lane, and the planned Wetherspoons’ pub in the former Elinor Lupton Centre.
Greg Mulholland MP has raised serious concerns about the trolley-bus scheme. He feels that Leeds should be free to spend the money ear-marked for the trolley-bus on the best transport system for the city – not a second-best option. Meanwhile, local campaigner Penny Goodman has called on Wetherspoons to clean up the Elinor Lupton Centre.
Several residents also commented on the number of traffic accidents which happen on Headingley Lane, particularly involving bicycles. We will be raising this with the council.
Penny Goodman and the Headingley Liberal Democrat team were out on the doorsteps in the St. Michael’s Road area earlier this evening. We spoke to residents about their priorities for the local area, and picked up concerns about thefts of Yorkshire stone paving slabs and anti-social behaviour after matches in the Carnegie Stadium. We’ll now be working on those issues to help make for a better Headingley.
