Yorkshire stone theft update

We are pleased to report that Charles Morrison, CEO of Morrison Utility Services, has already replied to Penny Goodman’s letter raising concerns about the theft of Yorkshire stone paving on Chapel Lane. Mr. Morrison stated:

We are fully committed to respecting the environment whilst carrying out work on behalf of our clients. In view of the seriousness of the allegations, I have asked my Contract Director to undertake a full investigation immediately. Once he has completed his findings, we will revert to you with our response.

This is a very promising response. We very much hope that the Contract Director is able to ascertain what happened on Chapel Lane, and to recommend measures which will ensure that it does not happen again.

Yorkshire stone theft on Chapel Lane

Last week, a significant quantity of Yorkshire stone paving slabs were stolen from Chapel Lane in Headingley. The theft was able to take place because the stones had been lifted up as part of electricity works taking place on the street, and were left unsecured by the company responsible.

Chapel Lane 2

Local activist Penny Goodman has written to the Chief Executive Officer of the company concerned, Morrison Utility Services, to draw his attention to the problem and ask him to take action. You can read her letter in full below. We will report back here if we receive any response.

Dear Mr. Morrison,

I am writing to raise a concern about the professional practices of your workmen in relation to work currently taking place on Chapel Lane in Headingley, Leeds, LS6 3BW.

Last week, the Yorkshire stone paving along the lower part of Chapel Lane was lifted by your company in order to conduct electricity works on behalf of Northern Powergrid (Yorkshire) plc. I have attached pictures of the site. The stone paving slabs were stacked at the side of the road, with no measures taken to secure them.

As you are probably aware, theft of Yorkshire stone is a serious issue in Leeds. Over the last year, West Yorkshire police have recorded an 18% rise in incidences of Yorkshire stone theft, and Leeds City Council have had to replace £50,000 of stone stolen from the city’s pavements. It is an organised crime, and currently on the rise.

Residents of Chapel Lane were therefore very concerned to see their historic paving stone left unsecured at the side of the road by your workmen. Chapel Lane is part of the Headingley conservation area, and as such its Yorkshire stone paving is recognised as part of the area’s unique local heritage. However, in this case, that heritage has now been lost due to the negligent actions of your company. All of the unsecured stone paving has been taken, most of it in two visits on Friday February 19th.

On one of these two occasions, a local resident witnessed the crime in progress, took the registration number of the vehicle being used, and reported it to the police. We can therefore hold out some hope that the criminals may be caught. However, the fact remains that this theft would not have been possible in the first place if your workmen had taken due care of the historic paving stones, instead of leaving them unsecured at the side of the road.

One of the residents whom I spoke to about this matter over the weekend reported that she had telephoned the emergency number provided on your safety barriers to report the theft and raise her concerns. Eventually, she received a call back from Tony Porter, your reinstatement agent, who said that Yorkshire stone paving is usually taken to the depot for safekeeping during work of this kind. However, on this occasion he did not know its whereabouts, and agreed that it had probably been stolen. This tells me that your normal protocol is to take actions to secure historic paving materials, but that on this occasion the protocol failed.

I would therefore like to ask you to review your working practices, to ensure that they do not allow this kind of devastating loss of unique local heritage to happen again in the future. I would also suggest that on this occasion you should undertake to compensate the Headingley community for its losses by offering to pay the cost of replacing these particular paving stones with new Yorkshire stone slabs to Leeds City Council.

I would appreciate your swift reply on how you will be responding to this issue.

Yours sincerely,

Penny Goodman
Liberal Democrat candidate for Headingley ward

St. Anne’s Road ginnel

The ginnel between St. Anne’s Road and Ash Road is becoming overgrown by vegetation from the adjoining properties. It also has an uneven surface, so that when it rains heavily, puddles build up which are so wide that it is difficult to get by.

St. Anne's road ginnel

We have raised this with the council, who have agreed to investigate and act on both issues.

Stopping splashing in Headingley centre

A resident recently drew our attention to dips in the road surface on the junction between North Lane and the Otley Road. When it rains, they fill up with water, causing pedestrians waiting at the crossing to get splashed as cars go round the corner.

North Lane junction 2

North Lane junction 1

We have raised the issue with the Highways department, who agreed that repairs are needed here. They have undertaken to carry them out within the next three months. It’s good to know that we’re helping to save pedestrians in Headingley from a splashing!

 

Greg Mulholland takes action on Yorkshire stone thefts

Headingley residents are increasingly raising concerns about the theft of Yorkshire stone paving slabs in our area. We have heard about it several times during our regular doorstep survey sessions – for example, from residents living in the St. Michael’s Road area and The Turnways.

We also see the impact of the thefts all too often on the local pavements as we are walking around the area. Thieves simply turn up in vans and remove slabs directly from the pavements with crow-bars, leaving empty holes which are ugly and dangerous.

A patch of missing Yorkshire Stone in the pavement on Harold Grove.

A patch of missing Yorkshire Stone in the pavement on Harold Grove.

We have been working alongside local Liberal Democrat MP, Greg Mulholland, to find out what can be done about this issue. Greg investigated further, and discovered that West Yorkshire Police have recorded an 18% rise in thefts of Yorkshire stone in the last year. It is an organised crime, carried out by thieves with the intention of selling on the stone to rogue builders, and it is on the rise.

In response, Greg has now tabled a parliamentary Early Day Motion, calling on the government to tackle the issue through legislation, a taskforce and an awareness-raising campaign. Similar actions were used in the last parliament to stop the theft and re-sale of scrap metal, and have been effective. Greg’s motion raises the need to apply the same approach to the theft of Yorkshire stone, to stop this attack on our heritage.

The Yorkshire Post has reported Greg Mulholland’s action on this issue today, and you can also read the text of his Early Day Motion here.

Out on the doorsteps: The Turnways

The Headingley Liberal Democrat team spoke to residents in The Turnways and Laurel Bank Court this evening.

Canvassing 8 Oct 2015

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.