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!

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.

Leeds Liberal Democrats 2018 election manifesto

Today marks two weeks to the Leeds City Council elections for 2018. These are particularly important elections, because we are electing the whole of Leeds city council from scratch following changes to some ward boundaries. Across the city, everyone will have three votes each to select three new councillors for the ward they live in.

The Leeds Liberal Democrats have produced a fully-costed manifesto for this year’s elections, created through consultation with our local members, residents and city councillors. It is packed full of exciting and practical policies such as:

  • Citywide food waste and glass collection
  • Saving money and reducing pollution by powering city vehicles with biogas
  • A council-owned housing company building affordable homes for sale and rent
  • Addressing declining educational results amongst our most disadvantaged children
  • Employing dementia-supporting Admiral nurses

If you would like to read the manifesto in full, you can do that right here! Pictures of all the pages are included below, or you can download a pdf copy for yourself.

Future of Headingley Post Office secured

The news came yesterday that the future of Headingley Post Office has been secured at last. This has been in doubt since February 2016, when Post Office Limited announced proposals to close it and replace it with a franchise counter in another shop.

Yesterday, the Post Office announced to their staff that an agreement in principle has been struck for the Post Office to relocate into Headingley Library. A period of consultation with staff and customers will now begin, and if all goes to plan the Post Office will move into the library March 2018.

Headingley Library itself will close shortly for a refurbishment, and re-open as a Community Hub in March: now complete with the new Post Office. There will be a ‘Pop up’ library in Headingley during the closure.

We are really pleased with this outcome, which preserves vital Post Office services at the heart of Headingley. It has come about thanks to dedicated hard work and campaigning from many people, and we would like to pay tribute in particular to:

  • Greg Mulholland and the Headingley Liberal Democrats, who collected thousands of petition signatures online and on paper and wrote multiple letters to Post Office Limited asking them to reconsider their plans
  • The Weetwood resident who originally suggested that the Post Office might move into Headingley Library, and Weetwood Liberal Democrat Councillor Sue Bentley who took this forward to the Council.

Greg Mulholland and the Headingley Liberal Democrats campaigning to save the Post Office in March 2016.

Greg Mulholland and the Headingley Liberal Democrats campaigning to save the Post Office in March 2016.

Local opposition to Yorkshire Bank branch closure

On Wednesday of this week, the Yorkshire Bank announced that it will be closing 39 branches, including the one on the Otley Road in Headingley.

Local MP Greg Mulholland has called on the bank to reconsider the decision, pointing out how much many people in Headingley – and especially vulnerable people – rely on their local branch. You can read more about Greg’s opposition to the closure here.

Yorkshire Bank, Otley Road, Headingley, Leeds (30th December 2014).JPG
Image by Mtaylor848 – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, Link

Focus stories: Headingley Post Office update

Thanks to everyone who backed our Save Headingley Post Office campaign.

Since the Post Office announced they would be closing the branch and moving it into a shop, Penny Goodman and Greg Mulholland started the Save Headingley Post Office petition and wrote to the Post Office to demand that it stays open to properly serve the needs of residents. The Post Office have failed to find a shop that will take a counter, so we are calling on them maintain a proper branch with a full range of services.

Penny said:

They are saying that they intend to move the post office into another store, such as a shop or business. We all know what this actually means – the lack of a dedicated post office and a substantial reduction in services.

Greg added:

It is very disappointing that the future of such a vital community asset remains in limbo and we will continue to do everything we can to save it. We will continue to campaign and push the Post Office to retain the branch and the services that hundreds of people use every day.

Placards and petitions

Post Office petition update

Local response to the Save Headingley Post Office petition has been phenomenal! This picture shows just some of the paper signatures which have flooded into the Leeds North West Lib Dems office or which we have collected on the door-steps. Along with over 1800 people who have signed the petition online, that now amounts to well over 2000 voices calling on Post Office Ltd. to halt their plans for closure – indeed nearer to 2500. It is very clear that the people of Headingley want to keep their much-loved local Post Office.

Post Office petition returns

Post Office Ltd. have now responded to our letter asking them to call a halt to their plans. They say that they have had an expression of interest from a potential franchisee, and that they will consult the local community before any next moves.

Local campaigner Penny Goodman said:

This is my local Post Office, and like anyone who uses it regularly I can see how busy and well used it is. It seems disgraceful that Post Office Ltd. are planning on closing down this site. It is especially disappointing considering their promise to keep it open when they closed a number of other local post offices in 2008.

I don’t think a franchise is an appropriate replacement for a Crown Post Office and have replied to them stressing my opposition to this proposal. I will be continuing to campaign to keep a Crown Post Office in Headingley, as well as making sure that the massive local support for this post office is not ignored by the Post Office.

Add your voice to the petition here, and help us to show how strongly local people feel about this branch!

New leaflet

This weekend, we are out delivering our new leaflet, along with an update on the campaign to save Headingley Crown Post Office. Look out for your copy!

New glossy

March glossy front smaller

March glossy back smaller  Post Office update smaller

Note: we aim to deliver a leaflet to every household in Headingley, but of course some addresses are inaccessible (e.g. flats with entry codes), and sometimes we just run out! That’s why we put our stories online as well. You can browse through them by following our ‘focus stories’ category.

Fighting to save Headingley Post Office

Yesterday, Headingley Liberal Democrats gathered in front of the local Post Office to protest against the plans to close it, and to invite members of the public to sign a petition calling on Post Office Ltd to halt the closure.

Placards and petitions

We collected over 100 signatures in just over an hour, which shows the strength of local feeling about this issue. Some people were queuing up to sign, while others told us how much they or their friends and relatives use and depend on this post office.

If you missed us at the Arndale Centre, but would like to show your support, you can sign the petition online here.

Headingley Post Office campaign update

Since the news broke that Headingley Post Office is to close, local residents have lost no time voicing their opposition to the plan. Over 1300 people have now signed the petition calling on Post Office Limited to halt their plans, and the campaign also features in the February edition of North Leeds Life.

Did you know? Every time a new signature is added to the petition, it generates an automatic email to the Post Office Limited board of directors, telling them that yet another person opposes their plans. You can add your voice here.