It has been bought to our attention that a restrospective planning application has been submitted by the Hare and Hounds public house.

Residents can add comments here at

https://publicaccess.leeds.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?keyVal=PUEWPJJBIQ700&activeTab=summary&fbclid=IwAR0UrNmOIhPeN_dMg9VzOlrzhlwvnbr9MsZ8YvYS2MkBqseO3CmKEGz2mRQ

PUBLIC TRANSPORT CONCERNS RAISED WITH L.C.C.

At a community meeting held at West Ardsley community on the 26th June 2019 attended by Councillor Karen Renshaw and Councillor Ben Garner, the community raised major concerns relating to air pollution and the decline of bus services within the city. Following the meeting West Ardsley Action Group have prepared the attached submission based on comments made by the attendees which we believe highlights major problems which are being experienced nationally and locally together with possible solutions for Council consideration.

We have forwarded the attachment to Judith Blake (Leader of Leeds City Council) and our local ward councillors for their considered response.-

Leeds Public Transport/Air Pollution

The responsibility for public transport in the Leeds area passed to a West Yorkshire region authority in some form or other in 1974. The bus service was deregulated in 1986. The current responsibility is with the West Yorkshire Combined Authority, which was created in 2014, and the private bus companies. During this time Leeds City Council have been complacent in allowing public transport in the Leeds area to deteriorate to a situation where it is not a viable alternative for private car users.

Public transport in Leeds is provided mainly by First Leeds, who serve the majority of the Leeds public transport system, operating within the confines of the Leeds City boundaries, and Arriva Yorkshire, which serves mainly the southern parts of Leeds. Currently Arriva provide cross country services between Leeds and nearby towns and cities.  Based in Kirklees, they operate mainly from Leeds Bus Station.

These are private companies, answerable to their respective shareholders. They run their bus services on a profit making basis, with potential loss making routes relying on subsidies through the WYCA. At present the major complaints by public transport passengers focus on the reliability, frequency and cost of travel.

The existing public transport system in Leeds needs a radical overhaul. There are some areas which have the luxury of a 10 minute bus service, whilst others have to rely on an hourly service.

The service provided by any Leeds based company should be an integrated network, giving access to all Leeds residents within a short walking distance to any route with easy access to services outside the Leeds boundary, supplemented by the metro rail links.

All cross-country services should be on a radial system probably based in the existing Leeds bus station.

At present there is no government body, which oversees the bus companies to ensure the services they provide operate fairly and to a good quality standard. Leeds City Council need to take responsibility for Leeds area public transport and bring it under their direct control.

One option, which has been shelved by Leeds City Council on many occasions due to the cost implication, is the re-introduction of a tramway system, which would be almost pollution free. When considering the initial cost of implementing this option against the annual cost to the nation, via the NHS, for treating air pollution related diseases this would pale into insignificance. Leeds is one of the largest cities in the country but, unlike neighbours such as Sheffield and Manchester, does not have a tram system. Why not?

Hydrogen powered vehicles are also an alternative, which should be considered for public transport. There would be a pollution free, power source available, which will never run out as long as water is available.

There is national concern regarding air pollution, particularly in inner cities.  Leeds is one of the worst cities in the UK for air pollution from motor vehicles. Whilst Leeds City Council appear to support the concerns regarding air pollution, and are proposing actions to combat the problem, their actions are timid, without foresight and lack a real determination to solve this existential threat.

Leeds City Council is proposing to introduce a pollution tax for certain air polluting vehicles; amazingly private cars are not included in the current proposal. The vehicles targeted at present are polluting commercial vehicles, taxies and public transport, some of which are essential to keep the city running. It would appear the logic is that the tax should encourage these operators to switch to less or zero polluting vehicles.

The current proposal ignores the thousands of private cars, which travel into or through Leeds City Centre on a daily basis. It may be argued that it is unreasonable to introduce this tax to private cars until there is a viable alternative however, this may be counterintuitive. It is very likely this tax will inevitably lead to the private bus companies either increasing prices or reducing services. The net effect being to make public transport even less viable.

Signs have appeared around Leeds advising drivers to ditch their cars in favour of walking, using a bike, or using public transport. Walking and using a bike are fine for the young and healthy but for the elderly and disabled this is not an option. They need a good public transport option.

Has LCC considered using community buses, which remain idle for most of the day, to provide vital links, particularly at off peak times, to an integrated public transport system?

Vehicle emissions, which are not only damaging the health of inner city dwellers, are the main cause of the daily assault on the health of young children all over the Leeds area. LCC could take the lead in promoting and incentivising the setting up of voluntary walking school buses operated by the schools and parents?

Cars taking them on the local school run, which fill up roads outside local schools, leaving their engines running, should be treated as public enemies. Why are Leeds City Council not following the example of York by issuing fines for this?

Why are private cars not being included in the pollution tax? LCC should promote and incentivise car sharing. How else are we going to inculcate a culture of personal responsibility in all of us to address this massive issue of air pollution? From observation, many vehicles travel with only one occupant ie. the driver. One seat on public transport has the potential to remove at least one vehicle from the roads; a filled bus would greatly improve the air pollution problem.

Allowing large housing developments outside the inner city area, with 2 car/household off road parking being a planning criteria; with little or no consideration to good public transport and no easy access to other services, merely exports the air pollution problem to other areas.

This is a contradiction of the air pollution reduction policy. 

Leeds City Council must lead the way in the elimination of air pollution in the city and surrounding areas. Leeds CC have the opportunity to make this happen by restoring the faith in using public transport. What is required is a transport system which is reliable, frequent, easily accessible and low cost, preferably free to all.

In conjunction with charges/taxes of private car users, providing a low cost, low polluting, reliable public transport alternative would encourage persistent car users to use public transport.

One of the buzz words in government is “Northern Power House”.  Over the last two decades the public transport system across the entire country has been allowed to deteriorate, due to privatisation and a lack of investment. Leeds needs an integrated public transport system to benefit from and participate in this.

This will however, require a large financial investment, which will need the backing of central government. Leeds City Council must put the case for this investment on the basis of our health and sound economic reasoning.   

By:

Walter Brekin

(Committee Member)

For and behalf of West Ardsley Action Group.

The Village has a new addition!

WAAG and  West Ardsley in Bloom requested a resting bench on Baghill, thank you to Cllr Lisa Mulherin for helping to secure the funding for it, it was installed this week.

We are sure many a weary person will use it for a rest and to enjoy the current view.

The in Bloom Group are planning to plant up around the bench in the near future.

TODAY-Wednesday 10th July 4pm till 7.30pm at Tingley Community centre- save or green spaces!

This is a consultation referring to the land at Thorpe Lane which Barrett Homes are very interested in

Community Meeting 26.6.19

Committee members present were:
Peter Cowling, Beth Ledger, Samantha Harper, Suzanne Bickerdike and Walter Breckin with guest member Mike Robinson. Apologies received from Camille Leach and Lynda O Rourke.

Leeds Councillors in attendance were Ben Garner and Karen Renshaw with apologies from Lisa Mulherin. Morley Independent Councillors Jim Aveyard and Robert Finnegan arrived later in proceedings.

Introductions and meeting etiquette was delivered by Chairman Peter Cowling, after which a brief introduction and overview of our Haigh Woods film was delivered by Mike Robinson prior to the film being shown. The film was met with a good response followed by a round of applause. General feedback from audience was positive and all seemed happy to share on social media upon release.

Sheree Hartley presented a cheque for £250 from the local Co op to the Bloom Group along with the information that they may able to give the group a further £250 if we fill in the appropriate forms in the store. It was also pledged that the store staff would like to be involved in future planting projects and litter picks organised.

An update on the following topics was delivered by Peter:

Save Haigh Woods Campaign, it was confirmed that the sites were being retained by the LCC SAP. This will be confirmed in a full council meeting to be held on 10^th July 2019. Once the SAP is formally agreed the proposed building application will be fought at the Plans Panel by the Steering Group. WAAG will of course be providing support by trying to obtain more objections and keeping awareness in the community as well as trying to raise awareness through the films to reach a broader audience. An appeal for further volunteers to deliver the last batch of the latest leaflet was made.

Anti-social Behaviour/CCTV project, it was confirmed that we are looking to install CCTV cameras in three locations (Reservoir Car Park, Hesketh Lane Park & Hill Top Community Car Park). Locations have been identified and the approximate cost is £3K, plus fitting per camera. Robert Finnegan will be visiting a Rotherham site with the same cameras to confirm the positive effect before an order will be placed. Cllr Ben Garner confirmed that LCC will be happy to work with and contribute towards the cost for the Hill Top Community Car Park Camera if Robert can provide costs and confirmation that the system will be linked into the Leeds Watch system.

20mph Zone, Cllr Ben Garner confirmed that the Highways department had confirmed to him that a new proposal had been drafted and was awaiting approval. Once it has been approved anyone who objected to the planned 20mph zone will receive a letter informing them of the outcome.

Speeding traffic on Baghill Road, unfortunately the latest survey results indicate that the road speed should be increased to 40mph! However, the Highways Department will not be implementing this recommendation as it will need to be reassessed following the roll out of the 20mph zone.

Walter presented an overview of the document he has prepared to send to LCC detailing his concerns over the poor transport links in our area and the new Clean Air Policy being adopted by LCC. It was unanimous that an integrated system should be adopted and that residents want to see improvements. It was suggested by Cllr Jim Aveyard that residents should look into the possibility of car share schemes, walking buses for local schools the voluntary usage of local mini buses that would ordinarily be sat idle during the day. Cllr Ben Garner confirmed the LCC were looking to organise feedback sessions with community groups to further explore options such as those listed above.

Following the updates delivered, residents were invited to raise any concerns in an open forum – points raised were:

Following the recent release of the new Chidswell Plans will there be a more cohesive approach to the fighting of planning applications?
It was agreed that this would definitely be beneficial to both the Chidswell and Haigh Woods Campaigns and Peter/Jim Aveyard will arrange for the respective committees to meet with a view to arranging a large public meeting to discuss both campaigns and they can be fought.

Is it possible to link the work done on the 20mph zones further along to tackle speeding vehicles on Heybeck Lane?
This problem has been explored by Peter and Camille in the past without any clear remedy. Unfortunately, Heybeck Lane resides under Kirklees and as such they have confirmed that they have no concerns on the current speed of this road and the Kirklees Councillors seem uninterested in the residents concerns. Cllr Ben Garner suggested a more direct approach by attending the monthly surgery that Councillors hold. Cllr Karen Renshaw also suggested that it might be useful to find if residents could find out if Kirklees Council has any speed restriction policies concerning roads around Primary Schools as is the case in Leeds.

Residents were invited to add their email addresses if they were not already on the mailing list and the meeting was closed.

Actions from the meeting:

Peter/Jim Aveyard to arrange a meeting between WAAG and the Chidswell Group to discuss working together on campaigns.

Cllr Robert Finnigan to contact Cllr Ben Garner to discuss shared funding for the CCTV camera proposed for Hill Top Community Car Park.

This is an amazing event organised by some lovely ladies in the village who hate to see waste

All Parents and carers are welcome to grab some school uniform for free! yes free uniform-

Uniforms have been collected across the village for several weeks now and there are more coming in, so why dont you come along and save money aswell as preventing this good quality uniform going into landfill

This event is for eveyone as the emphasis is on recycling rather than helping out those who might be struggling- lets face it, school uniform is not cheap. So whether you are on benefits or working, rich or wanting to be rich, come along and grab next years wardrobe for your little darlings

Blackgates- Hilltop- Westerton and Woodkirk uniforms will all be available for you

hope to see you there- Tingley Methodist church hall, Westerton road

3rd August 10am

Please check back for updates and new events in your area.

This Web page is supported by West Ardsley Action Group and the community.