Very happy to see that Leeds City Council have been to Meadow View and cleared up the bin yard following Brandon’s report not so long ago.
Now residents will be able to store their bins there and keep the pavements clear for wheelchair users and strollers.
Brandon and your local Liberal Democrats will continue to work to keep our community greener, cleaner, and safer!
Broken, littered, forgotten about – this is what happens when schemes are introduced without consulting local residents.
Brandon has been out and about in Hyde Park today and found many of the low traffic neighbourhood scheme planters in a very poor state of repair. He has reported these issues to Leeds City Council to arrange for them to be urgently repaired and leftover street barriers to be removed.
These problems could have avoided if the Labour council had consulted with local residents to find a better way for introducing the low traffic neighbourhood scheme and one which they supported, rather than springing it on them with ineffective measures like they have.
A resident recently contacted us to report serious congestion problems caused by cars parking on both sides of Moorland Road, close to the University. Penny Goodman went along to investigate, and quickly saw the problem. Parts of the road have recently been resurfaced, obliterating the double yellow lines and other road markings. People are now taking advantage of this by parking on the new unmarked surfaces – despite signs saying that no parking is allowed at any time. The parked cars are then blocking the flow of traffic along the road.
After checking out the problem, Penny wrote to the council highways department to ask whether the road markings are due to be repainted. The reply was that they are, but not until next month after the whole road surface has been sealed with a layer of bituminous emulsion and chippings.
It is good news that the markings will eventually be replaced, but the long wait means that traffic problems are going to persist for at least another month, causing transport misery every day. Penny suggested that in situations like this, the highways department should consider painting temporary double yellow lines onto the road surface, for example with a spray-can, until the job is finished and proper ones can be restored. This would be quick, cheap and save weeks of serious traffic problems.
Recently, a resident in Bainbrigge Road pointed out to us that the pavement on the north-west side had not been swept since the autumn. We took a look and saw that it was covered in compacted leaf-mulch, making it slippery and dangerous.
We raised this with the council’s Environment team, and they swept the pavement this Sunday. That’s another little job done!
Just as the current road-works on Headingley Lane are due to finish, a new set are about to start on Grove Lane. The Highway Services department have issued letters to residents living on the route, but Grove Lane is a major through route used by people from all parts of Leeds, and again these works are bound to cause delays due to the use of temporary traffic signals.
We are therefore sharing the information more widely, so that people who use Grove Lane regularly can make plans to use alternative routes while the work is going on. The details are as follows:
HIGHWAY IMPROVEMENT SCHEME – GROVE LANE, HEADINGLEY
Opposite 38, outside 65, where the Meanwood Valley Trail crosses the road and the side of 1 – 8 Bridgewater Court
As part of our highway improvement programme we intend to carry out works at the above location. The works will consist of the installation of speed cushions and a junction plateau.
The works are planned to commence on Monday 20th February and will be completed in approximately 2 weeks. The contractor’s working hours will be 09:30 – 15:30 Monday – Friday and temporary two-way signals will be place during these hours. On Sunday 5th March a road closure with signed diversion will be in place between 08:00 and 18:00.
You may have noticed that Northern Gas Networks have been doing a lot of work around Headingley recently. This is part of a major project to replace their existing metal gas mains with plastic pipes for safety and durability.
Next week, the company will be working on the road just outside the Original Oak on Headingley Lane, and will need to use two-way temporary traffic lights around the work-site. This is bound to mean serious delays on what is already a very congested route, so it is best to be aware of this in advance and make alternative travel plans if possible.
You might have noticed that the bus shelter opposite Richmond Avenue on Headingley has been replaced with a temporary stop. This happened because a vehicle crashed into the bus shelter which used to stand there, damaging it beyond repair.
The good news is that a new shelter will be installed at this location on July 27th. The work is being done by the West Yorkshire Combined Authority, who are responsible for bus shelters in Leeds.
Yorkshire Water are currently undertaking repair works to a collapsed sewer underneath Shaw Lane. Last week, they notified local residents that this would mean having to close off the end of Shaw Lane, where it meets Grove Lane, for about four weeks.
However, they have now discovered a new complication, which means that the work is now also affecting traffic on Grove Lane. In an update sent out yesterday they write:
Works began yesterday morning to carry out repairs to the collapsed sewer on Shaw Lane.
Unfortunately when undertaking the initial excavations the contractors discovered a large void underneath the carriageway which extended into/under the east bound lane of Grove Lane ( i.e. towards Meanwood).
Obviously this has changed things somewhat on site and as of this morning [i.e. Wednesday morning] the works have now encroached onto Grove Lane, narrowing it to below the required carriageway widths allowed to maintain two way traffic.
A priority system is now in place and seems to be working ok – however this type of traffic management will not be appropriate when the traffic flows increase during peak times.
Between 15.30-18.30 tonight [i.e. Wednesday] a trial will be undertaken using Stop/Go boards to try and manage traffic around the work site safely without causing major disruption
If the trial proves successful then this method will be used every morning and evening until the road is safe enough to allow two way traffic to flow unobstructed.
On the flip side, if it is clear that Stop/Go boards cannot manage traffic safely then we will have no choice but to close Grove Lane – one way (eastbound only).
This would mean that there will be no left or right turn into Grove Lane from Otley Road A660 but traffic traveling from Meanwood would be unaffected.
Yorkshire Water’s contractors will continue to work 7 days a week however it is now expected that these works will not be completed until mid/late June.
I hope this explains the difficult situation we find ourselves in and I will be sure to keep you all updated with any developments.
We will post any further information which they provide here.
Working with local residents, Liberal Democrat campaigner Penny Goodman ensured that a neglected area of Ash Terrace was spruced up and made tidy.
Penny Goodman said:
Local residents had raised with me their concerns about the overgrown vegetation. I took the issue to the Council and they agreed to fix it up. Two truck-loads of greenery have now been taken away.
It was great to be able to work with residents to get the job done. If any other residents are having similar issues, please let me know.
See below for before and after pictures of the site:
Before…
…and after
Two weeks ago, we reported on some correspondence with Morrison Utility Services, a company who have been working on behalf of Northern Powergrid on Chapel Lane. A local resident contacted Penny Goodman to say that some of Chapel Lane’s Yorkshire stone paving had been stolen in the course of this work, so she wrote to the CEO of Morrison Utility Services, Charles B. Morrison, asking him to improve the company’s on-site security protocols and to replace the stolen paving. He wrote back very quickly to say that they would be conducting a full investigation, and that he would report back further when they had done so. This has now happened, and Penny has received a second letter detailing the outcomes of the investigation.
You can read the letter in full below, but as it is quite long, we will note the key points here:
The last point is particularly welcome, and we will be keeping an eye on the site to check that it actually happens. The seriousness of the company’s overall approach to the issue, and to Penny’s letter, is also good to see. But it is still clear that works like this are a major target for thieves. We would suggest that companies whose work involves disturbing Yorkshire stone paving should be putting CCTV in place on site before they start as a matter of course – not waiting until a theft has taken place.
It is also very clear that the thieves responsible for these crimes are working on an almost industrial scale. Another theft just a few days ago in Granby Road, where thieves similarly crow-barred up slabs directly from the pavement, confirms this. The only long-term solution to the problem will be to shut off the market for stolen materials which is clearly driving the crimes. Greg Mulholland’s Early Day Motion calling for legislation, a taskforce and an awareness-raising campaign, similar to the measures used to stop the theft and re-sale of scrap metal, has been an important step forward in that direction.
You can read Charles Morrison’s letter for yourself here:
