Quite a few people have been reporting delays in the post from the Royal Mail. There has been some clusters of Covid-19 outbreaks within the postal service and they have asked that you are patient.

You can contact the post off and collect urgent items you are waiting for from the sorting offices

Stay safe everyone

West Ardsley now has its very own hotline to Father Christmas in the North Pole!

Your little ones can post their Christmas list letters free of charge at the little library on Haighmoor Road

If you include your address Father Christmas (who wont use your details for anything else and he is police checked!) might write back to your Children, adding to the magic of Christmas.

While you post your letters please do have a look at the lovely books in the little library – Leave a book – Take a book

Dear all, 

Please read below the following updates from WAAG. A brief summary of the approval notice and also our proposal regarding the environmental impact on the area, from our brilliant WAAG steering committee ecologist. 

As always we welcome your feedback and we are collating your responses for future reference. If we don’t respond, don’t worry you have been heard!  

Approval Notice
The approval notice for 17/08262/OT contains 13 pages of conditions, mostly intended to guard against poor development standards and practices.  Some are for our benefit such as working hours eg “work on site only takes place between 07.15hrs – 18.00hrs Monday to Friday, from 07.30hrs – 13.00hrs on Saturdays with no working on Sundays or Bank Holidays”.  This applies now to any investigation work as well as when construction starts.  So our community can be the eyes and ears to tell the Council if there are working hours breaches or any others.  The full decision notice is listed here: https://publicaccess.leeds.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?activeTab=documents&keyVal=P0YHSBJBITW00

In summary the conditions cover:  timetables, groundworks and site preparation and investigation, phasing, housing mix, space and accessibility standards, quantum of green space, CO2 emissions, water and energy consumption, design code, access details, drainage, EV charging points, cycle parking, archaeological recording, dust and mud control, construction plant traffic parking and routes, engaging with ward members and nominated representatives, ecological reports, scheme for areas to remain open (including Haigh Wood), tree protection.

Environmental Impact

This is WAAG’s brief about Haigh Wood and green aspects of the planning application:

There are a number of avenues we could explore to get the most out of this situation to improve the environmental impacts of the development. We would hope we can be involved in discussions about reserved matters and opportunity to influence the final designs through recommendations that are genuinely environmentally sound, but also what the community want to see.

Haigh Wood

Probably the most devastating impact on our greenspace will be the impact on the woods we all love. WADC sought to convince the community that the woodland would be improved by their proposals for management, including additional access and furniture (a green gym for example). If we are involved in further discussion, we can provide guidance and evidence on improving the woodland for habitat rather than sanitised amenity space by, for example:

• increasing the area by planting more trees, for example, providing greater buffer zones of undeveloped land to protect what little greenspace will be left,
• siting the proposed access features and furniture which would be welcomed by many… into the development area where it has lower impact on the habitat but actually greater potential for use by residents,
• installing additional features that are better suited for the character of the space; meadow areas from locally sourced seed rather than imported species that won’t thrive here; ponds and semi-aquatic habitat to reflect the natural existence of pools and springs in the area
• hedges and buffers that are better connected than in the original proposals and provide the wildlife corridors they suggested in original plans but were lacking in evidence
• fencing off sections where dying trees can be left to decay naturally for biodiversity rather than being removed for safety because of increased access (they will be inviting more people into the woods – so will need to manage trees for safety in their current proposals

The development itself

The proposed development in its current form is uninspiring. We can provide advice to the developers on improving the designs to incorporate more green features, and importantly, evidence as to how this can be done, examples of where it has been done before… and also how by incorporating more green features, the development could be more sustainable, more desirable, and more in-keeping with the ambitions of the existing and new community by, for example:

• Planting street trees. The government’s housing white paper is set to require trees on streets in all new developments – through the ‘tree lined streets’ bill. We can help the developer get ahead of the game and show its green credentials by advising them on how to do this through the expertise we already have within the steering committee
• Retaining existing trees where possible to minimise the number of trees removed during this climate emergency
• Propose additional planting and green features through the development to enable wildlife to reach all of our wildlife friendly gardens and bird feeders – through the new housing
• Planting a tree, or a fruit tree for every house to help meet Leeds’ own targets for canopy cover and tree planting in mitigating climate change
• Install other habitat features, bird boxes, bat boxes to rehome the wildlife affected
• Design wild spaces into the proposals where they don’t detract from properties, but enhance the natural space – clumps of trees, shrubs, flowers and borders
• Utilise flood water management to create balancing ponds with naturalised features to enhance the wetland features in the area and encourage insects, birds and amphibians

We have the expertise, examples and evidence to back all this up, within the WAAG steering group and in the broader community. We don’t want the development because it will harm our greenspace, but we have an opportunity – if the council and developers will listen – to get the best deal for nature and the community that we can. We should be welcomed as a valued contributing stakeholder in developing designs.

Kind Regards
WAAG 

UPDATE FROM WAAG                 

With Secretary of State Robert Jenrick’s rejection of a call-in for planning application 17/08262, we must expect Leeds Council to issue the approval notice imminently, though with over a month having passed since that rejection one wonders why that hasn’t happened already.  WAAG is of course furious that the community has been ignored.  Rather than vent its wrath here, however, there are some positive things that can be done, even though they amount to damage limitation.

1. City Plans Panel wanted our community to be given the chance to contribute to plan preparation.  Developers will be starting to prepare their detailed proposals.  We don’t know if there will be one planning application for “reserved matters” on all of the 17/08262 outline area or applications for each of the four land “parcels”.  Almost everything on 17/08262 was illustrative and so not approved.  There is a chance to influence designers.  They won’t be obliged to take account of what the community wants but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try.  WAAG will ask to see any proposals put to the Council at pre-application stage and, despite awkward feelings, WAAG proposes to contact the developers and tell them what our community wants.  How will we know this?  WAAG can’t have public meetings these days but can collate positive suggestions on social media or sent to our email address:westardsleyactiongroup@gmail.com.  Suggestions can’t expect to get the developable area reduced or change the access points (expect these to be already approved in 17/08262).  We’re doing a brief focussing on Haigh Wood and green aspects of the development and will post this here in a day or two.

2. There will be pages and pages of conditions, and the Section 106 agreement and the Community Infrastructure Levy, all of which will probably be the much the same as set out prior to the 21 May City Plans Panel meeting.  There will be more on the reserved matters applications too.  It’s LCC’s job to ensure these are complied with – though there won’t be much staff resources put into this unless discrepancies are brought to LCC’s attention by, for example, us.  

3. WAAG will ask the Council for copies of all the key documents and that all objectors to the outline plan be informed of every reserved matters application.

4. WAAG has considered using judicial review to challenge the legality of the 21 May City Plans Panel at which objectors were excluded.  It would be seriously expensive and even if we won it would only require that the decision be freshly taken.  This would not in itself change the planning merits/issues, so we would expect City Plans Panel to vote for approval again.

4. WAAG is keeping an eye on the very radical proposed government changes to the planning system.  It’s very likely that these will much too late to affect the Haigh Wood proposals, though the theme at this initial stage seems to be to enable building to go ahead with fewer safeguards.

5. It may be worth considering whether it would be good for West Ardsley to be included in the Morley Town Council area.  Developers across Leeds currently have to pay the Community Infrastructure Levy on every house approved (though the government’s proposed planning changes could scrap this).  15% of the CIL can be earmarked for local parish or town council areas if they cover where new houses are approved.  If not then all the CIL goes into a general Leeds wide pot and West Ardsley would probably see none of it.  

Thank you for reading.

We have exciting news about the village Christmas Tree this year

The local Labour Councillors have secured some funding for our own Christmas tree which will be placed out side the Hilltop community centre, and will be followed later by a permanent live tree!

Thank you to the councillors

We have also been told the notice board should be in place by the end of the year.

Even though the Church might not be fully open yet their work still goes on.

On Saturday 10th October 2020, there will be a Harvest festival food drop off at West Ardsley Methodist Church, Haigh Moor Road.

All the food donations will be given to those who need it in our area.

So if you have a spare tin of something or an excess of packets please do bring it along before 12noon.

The food bank donation box is also outside of the Chapel and is checked daily
 Thank you

20/9/2020                                                                    

WAAG UPDATE ON HAIGH WOOD HOUSING DEVELOPMENT PLANS

The government White Paper is proposing major changes to the planning system and they are engaging in a public consultation process.  WAAG intends to respond to their consultation however, this is asking a number of questions, which will require considerable effort and knowledge to respond effectively.

Not withstanding this, as feared, the governments build, build, build announcement, which we believe is the purpose of the new white paper, will have the Developers rubbing their hands.  

The Labour run Leeds City Council, have always had the intention to have this site developed, regardless of all of the objections raised.  As confirmed by their about turn at the last Plans Panel meeting.

We have written twice to the LCC Solicitor arguing that the last meeting was biased and unfair and pressing the case for a further, open, Plans Panel meeting; this has been refused. We have had it confirmed by the LCC Solicitor that they intend to issue an approval; they are only waiting for the Secretary of State to make a decision on the request for “call in”.

For now here’s where we think we stand in relation to the big planning application for 299 houses. 

• It’s now over three months since our MP Andrea Jenkyns asked Secretary of State Robert Jenrick to call in the application and we’re still waiting for him to decide whether he will or not.  If he does call it in, then there would be a public hearing with a fresh analysis about the merits or otherwise of the proposals.  We would be up against both the developers and Leeds Council both of whom want approval.  We would need to pay for expert help in preparing our case.  WAAG did think it more likely that Jenrick would tell Leeds to go ahead and approve, but is now wondering what is delaying Jenrick’s decision. 
  
  
• WAAG is challenging the minutes of the City Plans Panel so that there would have to be consultation with the community whilst more detailed plans are being drawn up.  Otherwise we just have to await planning applications for “reserved matters” when full details will be submitted for approval.  There could be one application or separate applications for the development parcels, though the Council would be looking to ensure that environmental promises already made would be adhered to.
  
  
• As for the planning system changes proposed, they are surely too late to influence the outcome for us.  If anything, they could make the situation worse.  Boris wants to “build, build build”.  Politicians see the planning system as too slow and cumbersome and to blame for all that’s wrong.  At least organisations like WAAG have been able to contribute to the SAP and City Plans Panel, even if ultimately ignored and then denied at the May CPP meeting (another story!).   Enabling public contribution slows planning decisions and the new system threatens that.  It feels like it is the WAAGs of this world that are the target that need to be by-passed to get building and the economy growing.  WAAG tries to stay apolitical but feels squeezed between Conservatives on one hand at national level, as just described, and Labour at the local level who imposed a grossly inflated housing target a decade or so ago and are determined to approve 299 houses around Haigh Wood.

www.westardsley.co.uk  email: westardsleyactiongroup@gmail.com

The Wednesday Ebenezer Lunch Club (West Ardsley Methodist Church) remains closed for the time being, this is to keep the diners and the volunteers safe.

They haven’t forgotten about you and hope you are all keeping well.

Fingers crossed you can all meet again soon.

Tingley Athletic is one of our local football clubs and they are always looking out for new players- girls and boys!
The new season is almost upon us and they would like to have more boys signing up for the Under 7s squad in particular.

If you know of a young man who is in year 2 who would love to play with a friendly team why don’t you give the Stripy army a shout!  Its more than just football!