By John Baron
Councillors in outer West Leeds have praised a report detailing ways to improve travel in the area – and have urged highways officers to ‘get on with it’!
The Leeds Streets for All public consultation last year gathered ideas for improving transport and travel in Calverley & Farsley, Farnley & Wortley and Pudsey wards.
It saw people suggest improvements including improved crossings at Stanningley Bypass, safer access at Farsley Farfield School, improved crossings on Whitehall Road, better management of rat running in Calverley and improved cycle routes.
Members of the Outer West Community Committee yesterday heard highways officers detail the findings of the consultation on themes including vehicles and parking, walking and wheeling, cycling, accessing bus stops and rail stations and the street environment.
Most responses were related to vehicles and parking, followed by cycling.
A council report says a local plan with a list of potential interventions can only be developed as funding opportunities from external sources become available.
Councillor Andrew Carter (Cons, Calverley & Farsley) said the ‘comprehensive’ report was ‘spot on’ in terms of issues in Calverley & Farsley.
“It is high time these issues are dealt with where they can be,” he told council highways officers. “Sometimes it’s residents who don’t help themselves.”
He said he was ‘gobsmacked’ by over 200 speeding tickets being recently issued along Farsley Town Street, and pointed to parking issues in other parts of the ward.
“It has taken too ling for police and parking services to start ticketing, but they’ve started now,” Cllr Carter added. “I heard from residents of a big blitz on Peckover Drive and Daleside Road, people were perhaps parked from a certain establishment blocking people’s driveways – it’s not acceptable. It shows no courtesy whatsoever.”
He pointed to an increase in rat running in Calverley. “We need you to come back with resolutions to deal with these issues. Constituents are getting fed up. This is a great report, but what we want is action.”
Cllr Peter Carlill (Lab, Calverley & Farsley) said there was a clear cluster of responses around rat running in Calverley. He suggested some issues could be done quite cheaply, for instance parking issues connected to Farsley Fairfield Primary School ‘could be done with a bit of re-lining’.
He added: “Just a bit of money could sort some of these issues out. What funding is available to start some of these?”
A highways officer said there was no specific funding allocated to many of the issues flagged in the consultation, but information was being fed into the highways department’s forward plan for action.
Cllr Trish Smith (Ind, Pudsey) raised issues with the recent changes to Pudsey town centre traffic lights which – as reported by WLD – had caused ‘chaos’ for motorists, public transport, pedestrians and shopkeepers, and had led to rat running elsewhere.
She said: “It’s all very well doing things, but where’s the ripple? It’s important to remember this when we are doing things.”
And Cllr Smith also raised concerns with parking outside schools.
Cllr David Blackburn (Green, Farnley & Wortley) said he was happy to see the lack of cycling on the Ring Road being flagged. He added: “People are getting fed up with being asked to come up with suggestions and then nothing happening. We need to get on with it.”
He also called on the council to enforce existing yellow lines and parking regulations.
Cllr Adrian McCluskey (Lab, Farnley & Wortley) raised concerns that his ward had no cycling infrastructure at all, along with Pudsey.
And Cllr Simon Seary (Cons, Pudsey) wanted the consultation run throughout the year to allow people to report ongoing problems.
A total of 1,164 relevant comments from the consultation were analysed in the report.
A potential list of improvement schemes drawn up by officers includes:
Some, such as the Pudsey town centre traffic lights, had already seen action taken.
The Outer West Community Committee is made up of nine councillors from three wards: Calverley & Farsley, Farnley & Wortley and Pudsey. It has four Labour, three Conservative, one independent and one Green councillor.
The agenda and council officer reports can be read in full here. The meeting was held at Leeds Civic Hall.
- See more of WLD’s coverage of the committee here.
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I agree, all good recommendations, the council needs to get this prioritised, apply for the funding and ‘get on with it’. There were loads of other suggestions that haven’t been taken forward and I hope the rest of them (that did not form part of the final recommendations) are passed to the relevant council departments (or WYCA) so that the feedback isn’t forgotten.
I look forward to more updates. WLD should work hard to make sure councilors are kept under pressure, so they fight council officers to get all the proposals actioned in 2025 (or at the very least detailed plans and consultations under way for each of the proposals).
Leeds constantly waits years – and that’s why we loose momentum compared to Andy Burnham in Manchester. Our council and Mayor of Yorkshire are simply not loud enough! The best example of that is the White Rose Train Station coming to a halt, cancelled children’s hospital, and Airport train station… They need to start banging the drum and get on with it! No excuses now its all Labour too.
Leeds deserves better and it starts with the recommendations being actioned – fast!
When do we get to see the detailed draft plans? Let’s not loose momentum.
We experience a rat run every morning along Lawns Lane/ Chapel Lane the width of the roads with parking on both sides often blocking access. We have double yellow lines that never seem to be enforced . At Easter The Maples were again an ‘Island’ blocked by church traffic with a Traffic Management in place you couldn’t get to our houses or leave them by car after 8.30pm . This situation needs resolving before an accident happens Please note Councillors for New Farnley