A group of ramblers have objected to plans to change vacant land to four storage container units behind Highfield Avenue and Dragon Road.
A planning statement submitted with the application states: “The proposal seeks to provide a storage area for four containers, with occasional deliveries to the site.
“Given the current levels of vehicular traffic, no new road access will need to be provided and the introduction of two vehicles with occasional access is not intensification. There is sufficient space forming a private entrance and driveway for entry to the site without hindering access or egress for the existing dwellings.”
But Ramblers Leeds Group have objected to the application. They state: “Ramblers Leeds Group objects to this application on the grounds that users of FP Leeds 195, which runs along the proposed entrance to this site, will be placed at increased risk from vehicular movements.
“…The presence of storage containers in the area close to existing houses and the cemetery is not in keeping with the neighbourhood.”
A new scheme to tackle rat running and reduce the number of road accidents in the Victoria Park area of Bramley has moved a step closer to reality.
Council documents released this week showed that Leeds council highways chiefs have over-ruled objections to permanently block some through roads in the area in a bid to slow down traffic.
Following a series of car crashes in the area, the council’s highways officers have been looking to push the scheme forward to tackle rat running and speeding on streets between Broad Lane and Raynville Road in Bramley.
A council report said 699 local residents were written to with details of the proposals, which attracted six comments in support and six objections.
Those in favour said the scheme will make residents lives’ more pleasant and safer by reducing rat running, speeding and crashes.
Objectors were concerned about some journeys being longer, ambulances taking longer and traffic increasing on main roads in an already congested area.
Concerns: Victoria Park Avenue. Photo: Jess Wong
The council report added: “Research on similar schemes show they reduce overall traffic levels, pollution and collisions and encourage more walking. Traffic levels within the residential area reduce, with little change on the boundary roads.
“There have been several significant collisions with casualties in the Victoria Park area that this scheme would reduce the likelihood of happening in the future.
“The proposals were drawn up following sustained requests from local residents to address these issues. The ward members have been extensively consulted with and are supportive.”
The council report over-ruled the six objections, allowing the scheme to go ahead. They say Broad Lane will still be accessible, though some car journeys will be longer and add they are also investigating the possibility of introducing pedestrian crossings on Broad Lane and Raynville Road.
Traffic levels on Wyther Lane and Kirkstall Bridge will be monitored, amid concerns that the closures would increase traffic congestion elsewhere.
A permanent road closure to vehicles would be located on Kirkstall Mount at the junction of Victoria Park Grove (C on map)
Proposals include:
1. No Waiting at Any Time on:
Kirkstall Avenue, Bramley (both sides); from a point 1.5m south of Abbey Avenue, in a northerly direction for 7.5m.
Kirkstall Mount, Bramley (both sides); from a point 11m south of Victoria Park Grove, in a southerly direction for 5m.
Lancastre Grove, Bramley (both sides); from a point 9m north of Victoria Park Grove, in a northerly direction for 6m.
Victoria Park Avenue, Bramley (both sides); from a point 23.5m east of its junction with Lancastre Grove, in aneasterly direction for 5m.
Victoria Park Avenue, Bramley (north side); from a point 62m east of its junction with Abbey Terrace, in an easterlydirection, up to and across its termination
Victoria Park Grove, Bramley (south side); from a point 13.5m west of Lancastre Grove, in an easterly direction for5m
2. A Prohibition of All Motor Vehicles (at all times) on:
Kirkstall Avenue, Bramley; from a point 1.5m south of Abbey Avenue, in a northerly direction for 7.5m.
Kirkstall Mount, Bramley; from its junction with Victoria Park Grove, in a southerly direction for 11.5m
Lancastre Grove, Bramley; from a point 0.5m south of Victoria Park Grove, in a northerly distance for 1 0m
Victoria Park Avenue, Bramley; from a point 1.5m east of Lancastre Avenue, in a westerly direction for 19.5m.
Victoria Park Grove, Bramley; from a point 1.5m west of Lancastre Grove; in an easterly direction for 15m.
WLD has previously reported on traffic issues here. Local resident Paul Chatterton had been campaigning for action to make Victoria Park Avenue, at the junction with Lancastre Grove, safer following a number of collisions and near misses on the road.
Adrian Thornton (Course Tutor), Max Grimshaw (Student), Rachel Humphreys (Student), Amelia Bush (Student), Shaan Sohal (Marketing Executive at AW Hainsworth)
Historic West Leeds-based fabric manufacturer and woollen mill Hainsworth has backed a competition supporting ‘slow’ fashion.
The Stanningley mill, which dates back over 230 years, recently collaborated with Manchester Metropolitan University’s Fashion Design and Technology program (MMUFDT) for the 22/23 Live Brief competition.
The annual competition challenged future fashion designers to create garments that embody the essence of slow fashion, using Hainsworth’s premium fabrics.
Students who entered the competition were encouraged to consider various elements of slow fashion, including waste reduction, use of natural materials, quality craftsmanship, style over trend, functionality, and garment longevity. After careful deliberation, student Stacy Chan was chosen as the winning designer, drawing inspiration from her Chinese heritage to create a stylish and timeless design.
The competition showcased excellent craftsmanship from MMUFDT students, demonstrating their design talent and commitment to sustainable fashion.
Hainsworth worked alongside course tutor Adrian Thornton in facilitating the project.
While all the entries displayed exceptional craftsmanship and adherence to slow fashion principles, Stacy Chan’s collection was chosen as the winner of the competition and £500 prize. Her elegant designs focused on timeless pieces that can be worn through generations, and her final garment was created with Hainsworth Jade cloth from the Vivid Hues Melton range and a silk lining.
Stacy explained: “I am incredibly happy for being chosen as the best in class. This project has been my favourite so far, and seeing my hard work paid off is very pleasant.”
Charlotte Law, marketing manager at AW Hainsworth, added: “Stacy’s garment really stood out to us. The symbolism behind the sublimation print tells a story of longevity, while the Chinese knot buttons, handmade with care, represent rich heritage and skilled craftsmanship.”
Hainsworth, a pioneer in the slow fashion movement, aims to connect environmental, ethical, and social responsibility to create beautiful, well-made garments that stand the test of time.
Next month, members of the Hainsworth team will travel to London College of Fashion to judge another live brief fashion design competition for students.
Ofsted praise: Five Lanes Primary School in Wortley.
Five Lanes Primary School continues to be a good school.
That’s the verdict of Ofsted in sectors following their visit to the ‘welcoming and inclusive’ Wortley school in May.
Inspectors praised the ambitious curriculum and a strong focus on the development of children’s language and vocabulary.
“Learning to read is a high priority at Five Lanes Primary School. Leaders foster a love of books and reading. Books are displayed and celebrated throughout the school. Children in the early years get off to a good start with learning to read,” the report adds.
“Pupils enjoy coming to this welcoming and inclusive school. They are happy and safe. Leaders are ambitious for them to do well.”
In grading the school as ‘good’ the report adds that some pupils become distracted and disengage from learning. “Leaders should ensure that the school’s behaviour policy is implemented consistently by staff in each key stage,” it adds.
Pudsey Park will host one event. Photo: John Baron/westleedsdispatch.com
A week of free events, workshops and performances will bring the people of Pudsey, Tyersal and Swinnow together for the fun-packed Fuse Festival.
As the anchor event for Pudsey with Leeds 2023, the festival is an opportunity for local artists, performers, crafts people, businesses and community groups to be involved. It’s being run by The Music Box, a Pudsey organisation delivering music and arts projects. It will shine a light on the Pudsey ward with a selection of free events, workshops and performances from 17 July until 23 July, with a large festival day on 22 July in Pudsey Park.
What’s happening at Fuse Festival 2023?
Creative art, cultural and music workshops and events
Talent contest with local people performing
A large scale community sing song with schools and community groups
Pudsey Bear Geo Cache Trail
A big event in Pudsey park with live music, stalls and workshops
Fuse Festival Workshops
Fuse Festival includes a programme of free workshops and events. This includes a range of activities with something for everyone across Pudsey ward, including DJ-ing, cookery, breakdancing, poetry and creative writing and musical theatre, among others.
Revised plans for an advertising screen off the A647 Stanningley Road in Armley have been refused for a second time by council planners.
Proposals included a new 48-sheet LED advertising screen at Armley Business Park and, according to a council report, were a resubmission of an identical application which was refused on the grounds of its visual impact.
A council planning officer’s report states: “It is considered that due to its size, location and illumination, the proposed panel is not appropriate to, and will result in harm to the character and appearance of the context of the surrounding area, which includes a number of Grade II listed structures.
“This application attempts to provide additional justification for the proposal in order to overcome the reason for refusal, however it is nevertheless considered to result in significant harm to visual amenity including the setting of the nearby Armley Gotts Park entrance and gateposts.”
Armley Leisure Centre is set to benefit from £222,000 of new cardio and resistance equipment, a council report has said.
Council chiefs hope the new equipment will attract an extra 300 members a year at the leisure centre, off Carr Crofts.
A report approving the expenditure says: “The gym equipment and wider development will help to support healthy, physically active lifestyles, ensuring the equipment matches the needs and demographics of the area, whilst keeping up to date with the latest fitness trends.
“The development provides greater opportunity to engage will all user groups to increase their activity levels and improve the health of people in and around Armley.”
Armley has higher than average rates of childhood and adult obesity, childhood asthma, serious mental health issues and COPD, along with lower life expectancies.
West Leeds is fast becoming a hub for entertainment, arts and culture. First with the Sunny Bank Hills in Farsley, and now Project House on Armley Road – which will open its doors with a launch party on 15 July.
Project House is a joint venture between Belgrave Music Hall, Brudenell Social Club and the Welcome Skate Store. It promises to be an astonishing 1,000-capacity event space, which will be used for everything from live music and exhibitions and car boot sales.
This may be news to local residents, but according to Simon Stevens, co-founder of Belgrave Music Hall, the concept has been floating around for about five years. They just needed to find a suitable venue. Simon is keen to point out that the venue was to be used for so much more than just live music.
“It’s very family orientated, it’s not just a black box music venue,” he said. “There’s a lot of light in there, it’s geared towards getting people in there in the day. We’ve got ambient yoga, we’ve got craft fayres, we’ll be confirming a food event happening pretty soon. That should be in the next week or so, we’ll be announcing that so there’s all sorts of daytime events on.”
Simon is staying tight-lipped about this though. “We can’t say what the food event yet as it’s not confirmed but there is usually a pretty good cross section of traders so hopefully covers most tastes.”
And the West Leeds roller skate enthusiasts will get the chance to roll and boogie, as Roller Girl Gang will be holding a roller disco on 5 August.
Any Armley residents concerned about noise pollution needn’t worry. The premises license is only till 11 o’clock – except for private functions – where the capacity will drop down to 200.
Simon added: “We’re not a club venue, we are very much live music promoters. That’s our kind of background, so we’re much more focused on the sort of daytime events. I’m sure you’ll have seen from the listings, we’ve got car boot sales and craft-fairs and loads of bits and pieces – so it’s definitely more daytime orientated that we are putting on down there.
“It is going to be a 1000 capacity event space, so that’s going to cover things like live music, film, exhibitions – anything we can get in there really – also weddings, corporate private hire – that sort of thing.
“Also there will be a restaurant and bar tagged onto that which will provide catering for the event space as well as being open under its own steam, but that will be coming a bit later in the year, so that’s going to be late September/early October that’ll launch.”
Project House launch party will be on 15 July with special guest: musician and producer Kamaal Williams. Tickets are free for this event.
Crowds are expected at Kirkstall Festival this Saturday. Photo is of the 2019 event.
It’s Kirkstall Festival time again – and volunteers behind the 2023 community event have organised a fun-packed day to bring people together at Kirkstall Abbey.
The Festival parade will be leaving Hesketh Road at 12pm on Saturday, 8 July, to arrive at the Abbey around 12.45pm via the following 1.2 mile route:
Attention then moves into the Abbey grounds.
Live music includes ELO Beatles and Beyond, LS18 Rocks, Socially Distant, King Zepha, Leeds Folk Fiddle Group, Music from The Attic, Naomi Kelly, Pat Fulgoni Blues Experience, Leeds Pipe Band, Leeds Morris Men, Leeds Youth Jazz Rock Orchestra and more.
Activities include a beer tent, a tea tent, Punch and Judy, Princess Dog Show, Leeds Canoe Club will be running taster sessions on the River Aire, Tailwagger Club Dog Display Team, Pete White’s Suitcase Circus, bingo, Triskele Irish Dance Academy, Viking Village, Leeds Fencing Club, African drummers, Implexus Gym Showdown and more.
The usual funfair will be on hand to provide thrills and spills, alongside dozens of community stalls and activities.
Kirkstall Festival is run by volunteers.
Festival chair Roger Plumtree said: “As a new chair, I have massive shoes to fill in expanding on what John Liversedge has done over so many years, so I’ve been spending a lot of time with the master to make sure that this year’s Festival doesn’t disappoint. I’m lucky to be taking over such a well honed and experienced team!
“Some of you will know me from my work at Kirkstall Valley Farm, a really vital community food and outdoor space in the Valley, and I think that experience has prepped me well for the ever moving cloud of community events management in challenging economic times.
“No big surprises this year, but I think the line up is one of our best. There are some really big challenges for funding and how we take the festival forward for next year, but that’s for August! Looking forward to seeing you all July 8, at the Abbey.”
Attendees are being encouraged to buy a £2 programme to support next year’s festival.
Farsley Celtic kicked off their pre-season with a draw at Brighouse. Photo: John McEvoy
New-look Farsley Celtic started their pre-season campaign with a 1-1 draw at Brighouse Town yesterday (Saturday).
The Celts have brought in 11 new players and a new management team since they avoided relegation on the last day of the National League North season in April, retaining just five of last season’s squad.
A mixture of new faces, trialists and a handful of familiar faces took to the field sporting the club’s new home kit in a game notable for multiple substitutions. It will have been a useful workout in the first of six pre-season games in July for the Celts.
Photographer John McEvoy was on hand to capture the action at the Yorkshire Payments Stadium. Here’s a slideshow of his photos:
The Celts’ next pre-season workout is at the Office Interiors Stadium, which is the home of Silsden FC, on Thursday evening (6 July, 7.45pm kick off.)
Pudsey Parish Church. Image courtesy Pudsey Parish Church
By John Baron
Mobile phone antennas aimed at improving mobile coverage in Pudsey will be installed at Grade II Listed Pudsey Parish Church after council planners gave the green light.
Plans were submitted by UK mobile infrastructure services company Cornerstone for the replacement and upgrade of four antennas and the installation of four new antennas in the church tower, off Church Lane.
A planning statement accompanying the application states: “The applicant has sought to cause as little impact as possible to fabric and architectural qualities of the listed building in addition to the character and setting of the surrounding conservation area.
“Church towers provide suitable spaces for housing telecommunications apparatus as they provide an ideal height over surrounding built forms. Unfortunately in this particular case the tower does not lend itself to having the antennas positioned internally within the tower.”
A council planning officer’s report approving the proposals said they lead to ‘less than substantial’ harm to the significance of a designated heritage asset, and the works were of high public benefit.
It stated: “The proposed equipment is to be located both on the external façade of the building and internally within the bell tower, and in both instances, replacing existing telecommunications equipment.
“In terms of the external works, the antennas and GPS element is of a minimal size, and sited within an elevated position, replacing that existing. The internal works are not viewable from the streetscape and these sit within the belltower, within an area where this type of development is established.”
There were no objections to the planning applications.
