Leeds Bradford airport expansion put on hold

It is good news to hear that the expansion of Leeds Bradford airport has been put on hold for now. We are in a climate emergency and expanding the airport risks damaging our environment even more. Not to mention the additional noise pollution that will happen over our community due to the increase in flight numbers.

The Labour council are willing to sacrifice our environment and the peace and quiet of those living under the flight path – the Liberal Democrats are not!

We will continue to oppose the expansion of the airport and call on all parties on Leeds City Council to fully stand with us.

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.

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

Headingley Neighbourhood Forum re-launch event

The Headingley Neighbourhood Forum is holding a re-launch event at the New Headingley Club from 2-5pm on Sunday 10th September

It is an informal, family-friendly event, involving cake and a free raffle. The purpose is to gather local views on the right direction for Headingley and for its Neighbourhood Forum over the next few years. This will include updating people on the current state of the Headingley Neighbourhood Plan: a formal document which allows Headingley people to set out their priorities for future local development.

We would encourage all Headingley residents to go along if possible, and to have your say on what you think is important for Headingley. More details are in the flyer below.

Mega-pub licence refused

The news came on Friday that an application to turn the former Elinor Lupton Centre into a licensed premises serving 500+ customers at a time has been refused. The full story is covered here in the Yorkshire Evening Post.

This is welcome news, given how strongly local people have objected to turning the Elinor Lupton Centre into a mega-pub. Headingley is already very well-provided with licensed premises, and the council has recognised their negative impact on local people through the Cumulative Impact Policy. This establishes a presumption against adding any new pubs to the area, and it is good to see that the policy was respected on this occasion.

Meanwhile, the building itself is now in an appalling state, and getting worse by the day. Local campaigner Penny Goodman has called on Wetherspoons, who now own the building, to take responsibility for its current condition and clean up the graffiti which is plastered all over it – but they refused. This is a Grade II listed building which could be a huge asset to our community. We can only hope that a positive use for the building, which respects the needs and interests of local people, can be found soon.

Elinor Lupton 1

Planning rejection covered by the YEP

The rejection of the plans to build on the Victoria Road playing field was covered yesterday by the Yorkshire Evening Post.

As the article points out, this is “one of the only inner-city green spaces in Leeds” and “the only area suitable for a grass playing field for local primary schools”, so the decision to preserve it is extremely welcome.

You can read the full story here.

Planning permission refused on Victoria Road

We were very pleased to hear the news on Friday that an application to build a 262-bed student accommodation block on the Victoria Road playing field (formerly owned by Leeds Girls High School) has been refused. This application was totally inappropriate in an area which is already very densely populated, but has no public playing fields or exercise facilities, and where local schools don’t have enough space for their pupils to play team sports.

Greg Mulholland welcomed the news, and congratulated local residents’ groups on their opposition to the proposal.

Headingley campaigner Penny Goodman said:

“As a local resident I am so pleased to hear that this development will not be going ahead. I objected to this application when it was first submitted, and was surprised that an appeal was even allowed on the original decision, given how obviously unsuitable the plans were for our area.

I have been really impressed with the support shown by the local community for investing in this site to turn it into a proper sports facility. Now that this latest attempt to build on the playing field has been turned down, I hope and trust that Leeds City Council will support the local community in turning that vision into a reality.”

Victoria Road 1

Focus stories: Elinor Lupton needs a clean up

Penny Goodman and the local Liberal Democrat team are asking Wetherspoons, the new owners of the Elinor Lupton Centre, to clean up the building.

This grade 2 listing building is covered in graffiti and is currently an eyesore rather than a landmark Headingley residents can be proud of.

The local Liberal Democrat team has supported proposals by Leeds Music Hub to use the building as a music and arts space and has expressed concern at it being turned into a pub.

Elinor Lupton 2

Victoria Road playing field must not be built on!

A new planning application to build a gated residence for 262 students on the former Leeds Girls High School playing field on Victoria Road has caused widespread anger amongst local residents. Ever since the school left the area, the local community, led by the Hyde Park Olympic Legacy group, has been fighting hard to preserve both the on-site sporting facilities and the playing field for public use. They are badly needed in an area which has all too little of both.

Victoria Road 1

Local campaigner Penny Goodman and Greg Mulholland MP in front of the Victoria Road playing field.

But despite local opposition, outline approval for a development of 24 houses and a supermarket on the site was granted in 2014. Soon afterwards, the sports hall and swimming pool which had previously stood on the site were demolished.

Demolition in progress on the Victoria Road site.

Demolition in progress on the Victoria Road site.

Now, in a new twist, a further application for a 262-bed gated student residence has been submitted. Just like the previous application, this will rob the local community of much-needed green space, but this new proposal would also affect the local population balance by increasing the concentration of students in the area. Students are valuable members of the Headingley community, but diversity and balance are important too. It is not good for anybody to create student ‘ghettos’ anywhere in Leeds.

Penny Goodman has therefore submitted an objection to the new planning application, joining 25 local residents and Greg Mulholland MP in doing so. You can see her letter on the council’s Planning Applications website (search for application 15/05863/FU, and then go to the Documents tab), or read it here:

Victoria Road objection letter

Focus stories: Labour’s housing targets are flawed

Headingley Liberal Democrat campaigner, Penny Goodman, and local MP, Greg Mulholland, are calling on the Labour-run Leeds City Council to review its housing targets after admitting they are inaccurate and too high.

Labour’s housing targets are too high, putting precious green space across Leeds under threat from development and will put strain on Headingley’s infrastructure.

Local MP, Greg Mulholland, has slammed the Labour-run Leeds City Council who closed the Royal Park School and are now seeing a crisis over school places in the area. Now Labour wants to build more homes in Headingley, but where will these families send their children to school?

Greg Mulholland MP said:

The housing allocations are based on what are now recognised to be flawed figures meaning more sites are identified for development than are required. I have called for affordable housing on brownfield sites to be prioritised and also campaigned in Parliament to give local people more say on planning issues by introducing a Bill in Parliament to balance the rights of developers and local communities.

The Liberal Democrats voted against the Core Strategy which set the housing target on Leeds City Council because it was inaccurate. Labour and the Conservatives voted for it.

Earlier this year Labour Councillors shocked local residents by voting in favour of allowing developers to build houses and a supermarket on the green playing fields off Victoria Road. The Liberal Democrat Councillor on the Plans Panel voted against following the community campaign with Penny and Greg.

The Council is currently carrying out a consultation with residents to hear their views on the proposed housing sites.

Penny Goodman said:

We understand the need for more affordable homes, but believe they should be on redundant brownfield sites and support the community. Labour needs to listen to the concerns of local residents, so we urge local people to take part in the consultation and have their say.

How you can have your say on the plans:

The Leeds City Council Site Allocations Plans public consultation runs for 8 weeks from 22 September until 5pm 16 November 2015.

You can comment on the plans online here.

Alternatively you can send written comments to: Planning Services, Leonardo Building, 2 Rossington Street, Leeds, LS2 8HD

When sending in written comments, please make sure your letter clearly states which sites you are writing about, preferably by quoting the plan reference number.

You can also sign Greg Mulholland’s petition calling on Leeds City Council to revise their housing targets and prioritise brown field land for the housing our community actually needs here.