Leeds City Council have issued a warning to dog owners after a Bramley woman was hit with a £5,000 fine following five offences for dog fouling and five offences for not keeping her dog on a lead.
Angela Dunn of Victoria Park Grove, Bramley, was sentenced in her absence at Leeds Magistrates Court last week and fined £5,000 in relation to ten offences. She was also charged with paying Leeds City Council’s legal costs of £1,968 and a victim surcharge of £200.
The council says Ms Dunn ended up in court after she failed to engage with the council’s cleaner neighbourhoods team, ignoring a £100 fixed penalty notice for an initial offence of dog fouling.
Councillor Mohammed Rafique, Leeds City Council’s executive member for climate, energy, environment and green space, said: “Not picking up after a pet that fouls in a public area is completely irresponsible and inexcusable.
“Whilst we never want to have to resort to such measures, any dog owner who behaves in such a way can be assured that a fine will be issued if there is clear evidence they have broken the law.
“If a fixed penalty notice is given, people should also be aware that we will take further action through the courts if the payment of a fine is ignored. As was the case here, this could result in a much larger financial penalty than what you have had to pay through a FPN.”
A Grade II-listed Victorian former school building, most recently used by Leeds City Council as its children’s services offices, is being put up for auction by the council in the new year with a guide price of £750,000 to £800,000.
Vacant since November, the prominent building, on Kildare Terrace in the Wortley area, was formerly Jacob Kramer College. The site features in the online property auction to be held by auctioneer Pugh on 31 January.
As reported by WLD last month, the former school, now called Adams Court, is located on a site of almost an acre and is set across a 20,000 sq ft main building and two further outbuildings.
Will Thompson from auctioneer Pugh said: “This really is a rare and exciting opportunity to acquire a freehold site and a historic Leeds property.
“Adams Court is a brownfield site that is unallocated in the local plan so it may well be suitable for change of use or redevelopment, subject to gaining the necessary planning consents. Interested parties should note, however, that the property is Grade II-listed.”
Pugh’s auction, which includes Adams Court in Holbeck, Leeds, has new lots added daily and will be held on 31 January at www.pugh-auctions.com.
Four objections to council proposals to implement parking restrictions to improve access and the safe passage of traffic in Bramley have been rejected by highways officers.
In a report published this week, council officers agreed to press ahead with the new restrictions on a raft of streets in Bramley & Stanningley ward, despite four objections from residents living in then Astons area, including the need for double le yellow lines on all back streets.
The council report said the scheme would restore sight lines for vehicles exiting junctions/private drives and prevent vehicles from parking in ways that cause obstructions, delays, or safety issues on the public highway, including refuse collection.
Officers acknowledged the negative impacts of the scheme included possible displacement of a small number of vehicles throughout the area as parking is removed, but they say ‘this negative is mitigated by the safety benefits’.
Streets affected by the scheme across the ward include: Ashdown Street, Aston Avenue, Aston Drive, Aston Grove, Aston Mount, Aston Place, Aston Road, Aston Street, Aston Terrace, Aston View, Back Aston Place, Back Aston Road, Back Aston Street, Back Aston Terrace, Back Aston View, Back Highfield Road, Bath Grove, Broad Lane, Church Hill Mount, Coal Hill Lane, Cross Aston Grove, Cross Eric Street, Eightlands Lane, Fairfield Mount, Fairfield Mount (Service Road North Of Stanningley Road), Fernbank Road, Glenlea Gardens, Half Mile Close, Half Mile Court, Half Mile Lane, Highfield Road, Intake Lane, Landseer Close, Landseer Green, Leeds And Bradford Road, Moorland View, Newlay Lane, Outgang, Pollard Lane, Raynville Road, Rock Lane, Rodley Lane, Rossefield Avenue, Rossefield Chase, Rossefield Drive, Rossefield Place, Rossefield Terrace, Rossefield Way, Snowden Close, Snowden Crescent, Snowden Royd, Snowden Vale, Town Street, Valley Rise, Valley Road, Waterloo Lane, Wellington Grove and Westminster Drive.
The scheme will now go ahead as originally advertised.
An application to sell booze 21 hours a day at a New Wortley convenience store will be considered by councillors early in the New Year.
Booze Plus, on the junction between Tong Road and St Mary’s Close, currently sells alcohol for consumption off premises between 8am and 11pm Monday to Saturday and 10am-10.30pm on Sundays. A new application would see those hours extended to 6am to 3am every day.
A proposal for the shop to sell alcohol 24 hours a day was withdrawn by applicant Saqib Ahmed in October 2022 following local concerns. Both West Yorkshire Police and the council’s public health and environmental health teams also objected amid fears of increased anti-social behaviour and street drinking.
Police and the council’s environmental health department have already objected to the latest proposals, alongside Leeds West MP Rachel Reeves and Armley’s councillors, mainly on the grounds of public nuisance in a residential area.
Mr Ahmed’s latest proposals say a suitable CCTV system will be in operation to deter anti-social behaviour, a register of the designated licence supervisor, incident logs will be kept and the premises will operate a Challenge 25 policy to deter under age drinking.
Members of the council’s licensing sub-committee will meet at Leeds Civic Hall on Thursday, 4 January 2024 (10am) to decide the application. The full agenda and papers can be read in full here.
Pudsey’s Bolton Road Primary School continues to be a ‘good’ school, Ofsted inspectors have said following a recent visit.
The school was rated ‘good’ in five key categories: quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management and early years provision.
Inspectors praised staff’s positive relationships with pupils and also highlighted the school’s curriculum, adding: “Leaders have designed a curriculum that supports pupils’ learning over time. It is well sequenced so that pupils can make connections in their learning and build on their understanding.”
Inspectors also praised the focus on reading and added: “Staff at Pudsey Bolton Primary School have high expectations for what pupils learn and experience. Pupils embrace these expectations. The school cultivates a culture that is safe and nurturing. Pupils feel happy and are safe.”
Inspectors noted the school should take further action to help staff to better use assessment so that pupils’ understanding is checked well.
First Bus has announced timetable changes to support customers travelling in Leeds over the Christmas period.
A normal Sunday service will operate on Christmas Eve with the last buses at approximately 8pm.
There will be no buses on Christmas Day with a “special service” resuming on a limited number of routes on Boxing Day.
From Wednesday, 27 December a Saturday timetable will be in operation on all days and a normal Sunday service on 31 December until 6pm when these will gradually reduce with the last buses at 8pm.
No buses will run on New Year’s Day with normal service from Tuesday 2 January 2024.
Leeds Park and Ride
Stourton PR3 will be the only Park and Ride service operating from Christmas Eve onwards until normal services resume across all sites on 2 January.
The removal of the Gelderd Road footbridge over the Armley Gyratory is to begin early in the new year – and partial road closures and diversions have been announced.
It is the second of three footbridges around the Gyratory which will be replaced with new footbridges with more accessible footways.
Gelderd Road footbridge is a single-span footbridge with a 24.9 metre beam and weighing around 75 tonnes. It will be removed by one of the world’s most powerful all-terrain cranes and self-propelled modular transporter vehicle.
Leeds City Council are making a city first by removing and replacing an existing footbridge over a single weekend on 12 – 15 January 2024.
Built in the early 1970’s the footbridge along with Spence Lane will be replaced with a new footbridge to include accessible ramps to better meet the needs of non-motorised users and people with disabilities. All the new upgraded footbridges are designed to ensure they will need less maintenance work and inspection, over future decades.
Diversions
To complete the Gelderd Road bridge work, motorists are advised there will be a weekend partial closure, starting 8pm Friday 12 January, until 5.30am Monday 15 January. With the Armley Gyratory approach to A58 Wellington Road south east exit closed and Ingram Distributer south bound will be closed, re-opening again outside of these hours.
Further details about the works and any future partial weekend closures for Spence Lane, are on the project website.
For the Armley Gyratory footway for people walking or wheeling, there will be a diversion in place until spring 2024, while works take place on constructing the new bridges.
The work schedule and activity is weather dependant which could change or delay work taking place.
The current phase two Armley structure programme:
Spence Bridge (2a) Spring 2024 bridge construction completion.
Gelderd Bridge (2a) Spring 2024 – removal and construction over single-weekend.
Wellington Road Bridge (2b) removal and construction anticipated summer 2024
The Armley Gyratory highways phase one works are complete, the improvements plan to increase capacity on the Leeds inner ring road and M621 and reduce city centre through-traffic, following the closure of City Square last year.
Councillor Helen Hayden, Leeds City Council’s executive member for sustainable development and infrastructure, said: “The next phases of bridges work represent transformative changes to the overhead footways for people walking and wheeling – making it easier to get across the gyratory, either going or away from the city centre.
“The works are also a bridge engineering challenge, as well as programme challenge to carry out, with the least disruption as possible. I’m excited to see that we are looking to remove and replace Gelderd bridge over one weekend, which would be an amazing achievement by the project team and contractors.
“Please plan ahead for the weekend of 12 January 2024 and follow the road diversions in place. We thank everyone for their ongoing patience while we continue to work hard to minimise disruption and thank those who have already changed the way they travel into and around the city centre.
“I look forward to seeing these new footway structures built and open by the summer next year.”
Diversion plans for motorists and footway users are found by searching ‘Plan ahead Leeds’ or visiting the project’s website.
There are times in football when you just have to shrug your shoulders and say it wasn’t your day.
Today was one of those days.
In truth Farsley Celtic could have played until midnight on a difficult pitch against a well-organised and determined Tadcaster Albion side and we probably wouldn’t have scored.
Gaffer Clayton Donaldson, making his first appearance since his injury against Southport last month, named a strong side against their Northern Counties East League Premier Division opponents.
And it was The Celts who started the stronger of the two sides, before succumbing to two second half strikes.
Donaldson went close after just seven minutes, and on 25 minutes he went even closer. Good buildup play from Donaldson and Youmbi before the former cut it back to the gaffer whose volley was blocked on the line. The following corner saw the ball comes off of the post before Tadcaster cleared.
A. minute later Joao Silva was next to go close for Farsley, but his curling effort from the edge of the area is a good height for Romero in the Tadcaster goal. The keeper had a great game for the hosts.
The hosts were slowly getting into the game as the half wore on, and Joe Crosby fired over after going through on goal. Tadcaster then saw a free header fly over the bar before Farsley keeper Allen denied Kieran Greenway following a weak kick out.
The Celts made three changes at the break, with Rudy Misambo, Chris Atkinson and Clayton Donaldson making way for Tom Allan, Conor Branson and Michael Coulson.
But it was Tadcaster who took the lead five minutes into the half, Oliver Norman slotting home after the Celts failed to clear their lines.
The visitors should have been level when Smith played Silva through but his lobbed effort cleared the bar. The Celts continued to knock at the door but Tadcaster defended well and in numbers.
On 79 minutes it was almost an own goal from Tadcaster as the ball ricocheted off two defender before clipping the crossbar and going out for a corner. Two minutes later Allan rose at the back post from a corner but his header was blocked.
Try as they might, Farsley just couldn’t find a way through Tadcaster’s valiant rearguard action.
Ben Atkinson was shoved in the box in what looked like a clear penalty – but the referee, who had an erratic evening, thought otherwise and booked the Farsley midfielder for his protests.
In the 92nd minute Coulson played Akky through on the right hand side of the box but his first-time effort was scuffed high and wide.
And in the 95th minute Tadcaster put the result beyond doubt by scoring a second on the break.
Farsley will be looking to return to winning ways in National League North on Saturday when they entertain Gloucester at The Citadel (3pm).
The number 9 bus route will soon include extra stops.
By John Baron
A new operator will run the replacement for the number 9 Horsforth to White Rose Centre service starting in the New Year.
As WLD reported last month, current number 9 operator Yorkshire Buses announced it was withdrawing the service from December 24, despite only taking it on in April after FirstBus pulled out.
WLD can reveal that independent operator Squarepeg has won a tender to run a replacement number 10 service, costing one million pounds over 30 months .The contract with West Yorkshire Combined Authority will run until April 2026.
The lifeline service runs along the ring road from Horsforth, via Rodley Roundabout, Dawsons Corner, Pudsey town centre, Farnley and Wortley.
The news has been welcomed by Calverley & Farsley councillor Peter Carlill (Lab). He said: “Following the announcement – yet again – of cancellation of the number 9 service, I had asked the West Yorkshire Combined Authority to put out a tender to try to save this important route.
“It’s excellent news that Squarepeg have agreed to operate a replacement number 10 service from January, and I’m keen to explore how this could be linked with the eastward number 9 loop service to form even more connections for our area.
“Many thanks to the Mayor, Tracy Brabin, and the West Yorkshire Combined Authority for seeing the importance of this route and working swiftly to ensure no loss of service for residents. I will continue campaigning for more reliable services and connections for our area.”
Councillors Andrew Carter and Amanda Carter, (Cons, Calverley & Farsley Ward) also welcomed the news that Squarepeg will run an hourly daytime number 10 service between the White Rose Centre-Pudsey-Horsforth from 2 January 2024.
They said: “The news that Squarepeg is to take over the number 9 service after Christmas is very welcome. It is disappointing that the evening service, which was introduced on a trial basis, will not continue, but we hope this can be re-visited in the future.
“Unfortunately, the West Yorkshire Combined Authority have still not stepped up to the mark to get the other services in our area reinstated. The fight goes on into the New Year, but we are assured that the No. 9, which will initially be re-named the number 10, will continue to run.”
Squarepeg buses have worked with Metro to revise the timetable, and they have added some additional resources which it is hoped will improve service punctuality and reliability.
Route details
Service 10 White Rose Centre • Pudsey • Horsforth
Tue 2 Jan 2024
Operated by Squarepeg
This service will operate from Horsforth to White Rose Centre via Horsforth Vale, Rodley, Farsley and Pudsey, replacing the withdrawn Yorkshire Buses service 9. The service will operate hourly on weekdays, slightly less frequently on Saturdays, and journeys will be retimed to improve reliability and punctuality. On weekdays, connections with Squarepeg service 9 will be available at Horsforth and White Rose Centre, with a typical 10 minute connection time. Evening journeys, which were introduced on a trial basis by Yorkshire Buses, will no longer operate.
Bramley parkrunners looping festive. Photo: Simon Cullingworth
Words: Jean Hollings
Photos: Simon Cullingworth
If you were in Bramley Park on Saturday, 16 December you may have thought you’d had been on the Christmas sherry – more than 100 runners dressed as Santa dashing through the park.
St Gemma’s Hospice annual Santa Dash went virtual this year. Bramley was one of the Leeds parkruns who signed up to host an event.
Each runner who completed the 5k event received a medal.
People dashed for loved ones and to support family and friends.
St Gemma’s event team were overwhelmed with the take up and atmosphere at Bramley Parkrun. They will update the parkrun team with the total amount raised once all sponsorship has been collected.
Robin and Carole McDermott make gingerbread Santa hats for the occasion.
Swinnow Community Centre on a wintery bleak and cold Saturday afternoon provided the perfect setting for the Invisible Pain Yheatre Company to perform their reimagined version of A Christmas Carol: The Musical.
Invisible Pain Theatre Company (known as IPTC) is run by Gerica McMullen, who played an attention-grabbing Jacob Marley in the show.
Gerica is originally from Ireland and says after relocating to the UK many years ago and she feels very at home in Pudsey as she says the sense of closeness within her neighbourhood is similar to places in Ireland.
Gerica wanted to use her own experiences and passion for drama to give back to local people, so she set up a theatre company: A place where for those who live with anxiety, depression and other health issues can express themselves creatively.
Gerica believes the arts have a powerful transformative impact on people’s health, and it is easy to see why after Saturday’s performance.
After a well-received three-night run at Interplay Theatre in Armley, IPTC wanted to provide a less technical version of the show on a pay-as-you-feel basis to benefit her neighbourhood.
Families gathered at Swinnow Community Centre to watch this striking version of A Christmas Carol.
Act one saw the hall transformed using clever props and staging into a convincing Victorian street scene with an adult cast dressed in traditional Dickensian clothing wowing the audience with an impressive opening scene when they burst into song and dance supported by live piano. There was cheery upbeat tones of hope from local people preparing for Christmas Day.
The tone quickly changed when Ebenezer Scrooge’s character was introduced as a lonesome, grumpy miser who rejects all offers from his niece to support her at the local soup kitchen to make food for the homeless on Christmas Day.
A quick change of scene was made by swift stagehands and the audience was transported inside the school room to show Scrooge as a version of himself as a child. Where the audience was pulled to empathise with Scrooge who was a loner who was unable to make friends.
A heartwarming and beautifully choreographed scene with an ensemble of the child actors dressed as street urchins sang and danced together. With a unique song created for the show warning about the dangers of bullying with the message that the choices we make create our lives we have and to be kind to all.
There was a short interval which was well-timed as the scent of the warm food cooking from the kitchen had captured the audience’s senses. One of the dishes available was a traditional Irish cobble an original Irish recipe made by Gerica herself.
Centre manager Yvonne and volunteers served hot food, mulled wine and sweet treats, with proceeds going towards the upkeep of the community centre. There was also a tombola and raffle which all the families enjoyed. Swinnow Community Centre provides an important resource with local people donating food which is redistributed to those in need. The hall can be hired and is used regularly by local organisations and catering supplied onsite, you can follow them on Facebook.
After the interval the audience continued to follow Scrooge with Ghost of Christmas present: adulthood, where he lost the affections of a love interest, and this reminded him of his childhood fears that he was unloveable.
The balance between scenes was well kept when the child actors returned to stage and filled the audience with smiles and everyone joined in singing along to The Bare Necessities (a song from Jungle Book).
Tiny Tim was introduced to the audience in a heartfelt scene between Bob Cratchit, played by Michelle Corns, who had written a special song for them to perform together. The song being sung between Cratchit and Tiny Tim made for a very moving scene depicting the loving and unbreakable bond between father and son.
The scenes escalated the emotional journey for Scrooge who faces the Ghost of Christmas Future in a well-acted dark and macabre scene where he saw both the demise of Tiny Tim, the fragile and lovable son of Cratchit.
After being faced with his own mortality Scrooge begs for forgiveness for being unkind and promises a change of his heart. He awakes from his nightmare a changed man full of generosity and takes everyone – including Cratchit and Tiny Tim – to his niece’s soup kitchen to serve up a giant feast to all. The whole cast rejoices in a celebration scene singing The First Noel with audience joining in and ending with the cast bowing to rapturous applause.
The play was ended with a quick word from Gerica, who said the play had been designed to remind us that sometimes when people are grumpy at Christmas, as Scrooge had been, there could be a reason for feeling that way. And that even if we have very little during the festive season, we only need bare necessities as being there to support one another is what is important.
The IPTCnow takes a break until new year when it will reopen offering regular drama sessions in the community which are inclusive to all. You can find out more and are welcome to attend by contacting them directly. Check out their Facebook page here.
The chair of West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Authority has warned that “tough decisions” could lie ahead over a lack of government funding – after a meeting heard cover had been reduced at a number of fire stations, including Stanningley.
The comments came as one councillor claimed measures introduced to deal with a shortage of firefighters was like playing “Russian roulette” with public safety.
The authority continues to struggle with stubbornly high firefighter absence rates since the pandemic, similar to many other public sector organisations.
A meeting at Dewsbury Town Hall heard there is currently an average shortfall of 58 firefighters per day across the region. The authority has been stopped by the government from raising its council tax precept for the next financial year.
Authority chairman Darren O’Donovan said: “That can mean some tough decisions. It’s not just a question of buying cheaper tea and coffee. These are major savings that we have had to make over the last 13 years.
“The reason we have had to make those savings is because the government has given us less money. I would imagine we are going to have to make some more savings and make some more difficult decisions.
“The people around this table need to be able to make pragmatic, realistic decisions for the benefit of this service and all of us in West Yorkshire. I am confident that the leadership team and the majority of the people around the room will be able to do that.”
In August, the authority introduced a “making appliances unavailable” policy to cover short notice absences. The changes were partly made to reduce the amount of firefighter overtime.
Figures reveal 75 occasions when appliance numbers were reduced at 15 stations across West Yorkshire.
The authority has described the impact of the changes as “minimal” and said response targets continue to be met.
Councillor Nick Farmer said: “I have been looking at the unavailability and it is a bit like looking at Russian roulette. As far as I am concerned it is a really serious matter.”
In Leeds, cover was reduced at Hunslet, Killingbeck, Moortown and Stanningley.
In Kirklees, Dewsbury and Huddersfield stations had appliances reduced at short notice.
In Bradford, Shipley, Odsal and Bingley stations have been affected.
Reductions were also recorded at Wakefield, Ossett, Pontefract, Halifax and Rastrick.
A report highlights “significant pressures” on staffing as firefighter absence rates remain higher than pre-covid levels.
Coun O’Donovan said the rates were similar to those experienced by public sector bodies nationally. “This is something that is playing out through every fire and rescue service, through every local authority, through every police service, every prison and every hospital,” he said. “We need to see that in the context that it is. Undoubtedly there are occasions for every fire and rescue service where there are pumps off.
“What is happening here in West Yorkshire is no different to what is happening around the rest of the country. Sickness is a challenge for everybody to get their heads around to provide cover for.”
Last year, the authority agreed to invest £1.5 million in an additional 34 firefighter posts. It was the first time West Yorkshire firefighter numbers had been boosted since the 1970s.
Between 2010 and 2022 firefighter numbers dropped from 1,490 to 900.
Coun O’Donovan added: “It is pleasing to see we are the only fire authority in the country that budgeted in the face of cuts from the government. We increased staffing by 30-odd officers. That is significant and shouldn’t be forgotten.”
Coun Steve Tulley said: “The reason why we have a major issue is because, on any given day, we are 58 firefighters short. We can’t do anything about that. It’s a very difficult situation.
“Decisons have to be made, they are not always nice decisons but this is the budget we have got. I, along with other people, have major concerns about the cuts that we have had to make. But we are where we are. Sometimes I think we we need to take that on board and try to make them work.
“We can only ask our senior leadership team to do what they are expected to do and deploy as they see fit and have faith and confidence in our senior people to do this on a day-to-day basis.”
The report says the average number of shifts lost to sickness is nine per person, per year.
Reasons given for just over 50 per cent of absences was down to firefighters suffering from back or muscular skeletal issues, awaiting surgery or suffering mental health problems including stress, depression or anxiety.
Measures being introduced to address staffing problems include increasing pay rates for more senior firefighter roles. The service has also advertised for emergency response drivers and crew managers from other forces.
Plans are also in place to recruit and train retired or former firefighters who have left the service.
