Buses, community farms in Burley, community issues in Calverley and a campaign to save the NHS were all discussed at the latest West Leeds Dispatch community news cafe.
Dispatch editor John Baron was joined at Bramley’s Costa Coffee by Burley activist Adele Rae, Calverley resident Anne Akers and Leeds Hospital Alert campaigner Sylvia Landells, from Burley.
We discussed a number of local issues.
In Burley, problems speeding traffic was discussed, alongside the fact that most streets were due to become 20mph zones (apart from the congested Burley Road), and the ins and outs of the new flood defences down Kirkstall Road.
There are also exciting plans for a community farm in Burley, which will be a community-supported agricultural business and develop growing projects with schools and residents, to sit alongside remaining allotment holders in the area. This could be happening fairly soon, so watch this space!
An idea floated was having a regular bus service that just did the Kirkstall Road/Burley Road loop to help encourage people to get out of their cars. Anyone else think that’s a good idea?
Roadworks in Calverley seem to be a talking point – read Anne Akers’ report here. We also discussed allotment life in Calverley and are looking forward to Anne’s next ‘Anne’s Patch‘ column!
And we heard about Leeds Hospital Alert’s campaign to take home care services back into public ownership.
Community news cafes aim to bring people together to discuss what’s happening in their community, and encourage people to become contributors to The Dispatch telling their stories, or that of their community or local groups.
Keep your eyes peeled for the date of the next one!
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A Kirkstall/Burkey circular bus could also have the positive impact of allowing more elderly and people with mobility issues to get out. This could help reduce social isolation and enrich people’s lives. There should always be a place in communities for local bus routes.