By John Baron
Leeds council chiefs have signed off plans to buy land for Dawsons Corner improvements from a local charity.
Seven acres of grazing land at the junction of Stanningley Bypass and Bradford Road will be bought by the council from The Calverley Charity at a cost of around £1.4m after a public consultation held last year raised no major concerns.
Some of the land will be used for multi-million pound highways improvements to reduce traffic congestion. The majority of the land will remain as open space and a footpath with improved crossing to the train station will be maintained.
Proceeds of the sale will go towards The Calverley Charity – the Workhouse Allotment (CCWA), which has the aim: ‘the prevention or relief of need or hardship of persons living within the former manor of Calverley’. It operates within the parishes of Calverley, Farsley and Thornbury and Leeds City Council is the sole trustee.
Fifty nine people completed a public questionnaire, run by engineering professional services consultancy WSP. Reactions to the sale of the land were split.
But a council report released to the public this week concluded:
“The results demonstrated that nobody would be personally directly aggrieved or injured in any way by the change of ownership. WSP concluded that although there were some expressions of concern, no significant objections were received and the balance of comments were neutral or positive.”
Concerns included that more people might park near residents’ homes and that the land could be developed for housing – but this was not seen as a significant objection as the land will be developed as highway, not housing.
Positive comments from the public consultation centred on the green space being enhanced after sale.
The report added that there was some discontent expressed regarding the enlargement of Dawson’s Corner roundabout – but this is not seen as a significant objection for the sale of the charity land as it relates to the Dawson’s Corner roundabout scheme.
The terms of sale were approved by the council’s decision-making executive board on 23 June 2021. The sale could only proceed if no significant consultation objections were received during the consultation.
The council report can be read in full here.
Follow WLD’s ongoing coverage of this issue here.
