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.

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.