A new bay window in the basement and two light wells to the side and rear of a house in Bramley could get planning permission later this week – despite local opposition.
The plans, for 47 Westover Road, will be considered by members of the south and west plans panel at Leeds Civic Hall on Thursday.
Cllr Kevin Ritchie
Bramley councillor Kevin Ritchie (Lab) asked that the panel consider the plans, following 18 objections from neighbours.
The initial submission as originally advertised related to the change of use of the property to a seven-bed House of Multiple Occupation (HMO), including alterations to basement level.
The application was then later revised and the seven-bed HMO has been removed from the application and the internal floor plans now show a six-bed HMO. Further to the reduction in bedrooms, the provision of a six-bed HMO in this area does not require planning permission.
Local opposition includes concerns about the lack of parking, and increase in refuse, noise, and potential for anti-social behaviour. people also say they do not want another HMO in the area.
Planning officers have recommended the plans for approval, subject to a number of conditions. They say that the use as an HMO is not relevant to the revised plans. Their report concludes:
“The proposal before members is considered to comply with both national and local planning policy.
“It is considered the current scheme preserves the character and appearance of the Conservation Area, and protects visual and residential amenity. It is therefore recommended that this application is approved, subject to the suggested conditions set out at the head of this report.”
“I requested the application to come to Plans Panel as the creation of additional rooms enabled by this application, creates additional demand for on street parking, when the location is already at its practical capacity. This is to the detriment of the free & safe operation of the local highway network thereby contrary to CS Policy T2 & UDP Policy GP5 & the guidance contained within the NPPF which seeks to ensure the highway impacts of development are acceptable.
“Despite the Permitted Development rights for the conversion to HMO, I still believe the highways issues warrant a refusal and am hopeful based on a recent appeal dismissal for an application in Alwoodley ref 19/00385/FU which, whilst the extension was policy compliant, N&E plans panel refused (contrary to officer recommendation) based on highways issues, which the planning inspectorate agreed with when dismissing the appeal.
“We are seeing a worrying increase in HMO applications in Bramley & Stanningley so I am seeking a review of Article 4 direction to ensure the entire ward is covered which would remove Permitted Development Rights for these types of conversion.”
Swinnow Primary School provides a ‘good’ education for its pupils – but there are areas where it could improve, Ofsted inspectors have said.
The school, which had been rated as ‘outstanding’ since 2007, has been rated as ‘good’ for its quality of education, behaviour and attitude of its pupils, personal development and leadership.
There is also praise for its curriculum and safeguarding.
The ‘harmonious atmosphere across school’, pupils’ behaviour and the school’s planning and teaching of phonics, reading, writing and mathematics are also singled out for praise.
But its early years provision has been highlighted as requiring improvement by inspectors during their visit last month. The report adds:
“The nurturing provision in early years supports children’s personal development well. Staff provide sensitive guidance to children. This helps children behave well.
“Staff successfully support children’s social and emotional needs. Consequently, children feel safe and settle well into school.
“However, the planning of the early years curriculum is not as well sequenced as in other parts of the school. Consequently, children’s achievement in reading, writing and mathematics has not been high enough.
“Not enough children have been well prepared in these subjects to start Year 1. Leaders are taking relevant action to address this. They have visited schools to identify effective practice. Staff are now developing curriculum planning and new staffing arrangements are in place.”
The full Ofsted report of the Swinnow Road school can be read here.
Bramley’s Caroline Nardone has overcome personal eyesight health challenges to set up her own thriving food business: The Kitchen at Haley’s Yard, writes Josie Armitage.
Caroline officially opened The Kitchen on 1st June 2018, based at her home on the beautiful and historic Haley’s Yard in Bramley.
This was an unplanned change of direction for the chef following serious personal eyesight health challenges.
Caroline Nardone in action. Photo: Josie Armitage
How did you
overcome your eyesight challenges and come up with the idea for your business?
Caroline moved to Leeds from Liversedge to study almost 20 years ago. She had suffered from detached retinas since her 20s and undergone many operations and treatments.
Her professional life was going well and she had built a 10-year career as a HR Business Partner for Lloyds Bank “a truly tremendous employer”.
In 2007, Caroline again suffered from a detached retina firstly in her right eye and then in her left ‘seeing’ eye. Over a three-year period, she had 20 procedures and 10 major eye operations to try to save her eyesight.
In 2015, she began to lose her eyesight and was registered as partially
sighted for a couple of years. This was
a scary time for Caroline.
During this time, Caroline took some time off work to recover and reflect on what she should do going forward. She was able to take advantage of a redundancy opportunity and left Lloyd’s Bank.
With her redundancy money she had the advantage of being able to think about what she enjoyed doing and wanted to do something worthwhile. Caroline said:
“I have always enjoyed cooking and baking and found this both relaxing and therapeutic when I was struggling with my eyesight issues.”
In 2017, Caroline went to Dorset to do a fast-track course to re-train as a chef at the prestigious White Pepper Chef Academy where she also later did a Master Class in Patisserie under a fantastic Michelin star tutor, Mark Treasure. She qualified as a chef and returned home to Haley’s Yard.
Newly-qualified: Caroline Nardone
In March 2018, a small miracle happened for Caroline. After her 10th eye surgery, she
was finally able to get some glasses! She says:
“This was the best day ever! I went to the White Rose Centre with my mum and dad and picked up my glasses. I walked around the centre reading all the signs out loud just because I could read them.”
How did you
start the business?
Caroline was at a decision point in her life. She could go out more as she could see and was growing in confidence. She thought about what she could do to fit with her changed lifestyle.
Could she do anything from home? She was unable to be employed as she didn’t know what was going to happen with her health.
She decided to trial her cookery skills with Take Home healthy gourmet
takeaways. Caroline says:
“I wanted to provide chef prepared dishes which people could eat in the comfort of their homes.
“Customers would know the ingredients that had been used to prepare their meals. I wanted to help people who found it difficult to go out for a variety of reasons or those who wanted a takeaway but couldn’t afford to go out.”
Caroline carried out a lot of research with questionnaires to find out what potential customers might want and carried out an Indian Take Home trial.
She asked for 20 volunteers via Facebook who could choose dishes from a set menu for free in return for feedback on the food, what price they would be willing to pay, the packaging and which Take Home cuisines they would buy in future.
The trial was successful and many of the volunteers are now regular customers.
Caroline registered with the Environmental Health and using her
redundancy money, transformed her domestic kitchen into a working kitchen. She says:
“The Kitchen was born on 1st June 2018 and has grown from strength to strength over the past 18 months. I have taken each stage at a time and evolved the business based on what my customers want and the local market.”
What are the main areas of your business?
Caroline started off doing regular Weekend Take Homes with set menus for customers to choose meals from different cuisines such as Thai, Oriental, Indian and pie with guest Take Homes such as Jamaican and American.
She enjoys cooking different cuisines and makes sure that when she goes on holiday, she does a local lesson. Her last holiday was in Singapore and on her return she provided a Singaporian guest Weekend Take Home.
She also caters for hot or cold buffets up to 100 people, dinner parties
at home and business lunches. The most popular are hot buffets for parties at
home for 20-40 people. Caroline says:
“In consultation with the customer, I find out what they want including dietary requirements, what their budget is and work with them to develop a menu.
“I usually go along to the party, set everything up, warm the food up and make sure everything is ready. I fill up the plates while guests are eating and then leave them to enjoy the party.”
A staple of The Kitchen are Caroline’s freezer meals. She says:
“These are delicious and nutritious diet plan freezer meals using only the best fresh fruit and vegetables from Sutcliffe’s of Farsley, finest meats from Bentley’s of Pudsey and milk, eggs and cream from Aiden, the local milkman. It’s important to me to use local quality produce.
“I work closely with all three of these local businesses who all deliver which I am grateful for as I am unable to drive. We all promote each other’s businesses and recommend each other to new customers.”
Caroline produces freezer meals to cover a variety of diets,
intolerances and customer requirements. These
include:
Keto Kitchen – low to zero carb, high protein and fat, gluten free – suitable for those following a ketogenic lifestyle and for diabetics.
Slimmer’s Kitchen – low calorie and low fat, cooked with fry light, all visible fat removed, packed with veggies, counted as ‘zero naughtiness’ on the UK’s most popular diet plan
Vegan Kitchen – as above with zero animal products, perfect for those taking on the Veganuary Challenge.
Caroline herself follows a ketogenic lifestyle. She says:
“I personally eat the Keto Kitchen meals! My favourite is the cauliflower, pepperoni and jalapeno pizza casserole. Along with regular exercise, these keep my mind and body feeling tip top!”
The Keto Kitchen is the most popular.
Caroline works with her customers to make meals that meet their dietary
requirements and will advise and make meals specifically for customers with
different needs. She says:
“I love helping people to be able to eat home cooked meals that work around their intolerances and advise them as to what alternatives they can eat. Customers are appreciative of the advice and the meals that I specifically prepare for them.”
What are
the highs and lows of running your own business?
Caroline says:
“I can honestly say that I have never worked as hard at a job in my entire life as I do in this one.
“It is definitely worth it as it is my business and I am my own boss. I love being responsible for everything – cooking food, marketing and social media, designing menus, researching and buying in season produce and of course helping my lovely customers. I believe in using leftovers and minimising waste as I believe that this is important. I am especially proud of my 5* Hygiene rating.
“I love seeing everything come to fruition, everything is cooked and ready for delivery or pick up. I am proud when customers put positive comments and reviews on my Facebook page.”
A benefit to Caroline is being able to work from home. She added:
“I love being able to work from my home in Haley’s Yard. This is a great place to live and most of my neighbours are customers and some of them help me to deliver meals.”
Caroline is unable to drive any more due to her eyesight issues but has a network of neighbours, family and friends who help her deliver meals to customers who need this.
Who are
your main customers?
Regular customers for my frozen meals are people who find it hard to get
out for a variety of health reasons, those following specific dietary plans and
lifestyles and those who are too busy to cook healthy and nutritious meals.
My Weekend Take Homes are popular with people who want to enjoy a
healthy takeaway where they are confident of the ingredients and know what has
been used to prepare it. Caroline says:
“These meals are popular with couples who have children at home, as they can put the kids to bed and still enjoy a special restaurant quality meal.”
Charity work
When Caroline has time she likes to help charities. This includes donating cakes or gift
vouchers. On occasion, she has donated
cooked food to Helping Hands and Homeless Street Angels.
As a Take Home, she cooked 44 Christmas dinners for paid customers. She was able to provide 3 x 4 course
Christmas dinners which were surplus requirements to a local family who were
struggling to provide a Christmas dinner.
What’s next
for you and The Kitchen?
Caroline says:
“My main focus for January and February is my healthy frozen meals as customers are on diets or trying to eat healthily. Customers can order these from my menus by contacting The Kitchen at Haley’s Yard Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/hayleysyardkitchen/“
I can recommend the Lamb Dhansak from the Slimmer’s Kitchen and the Hungarian
Beef Goulash from the Keto Kitchen.
Caroline kindly gave me these to try and these are delicious. Knowing they are healthy will encourage me to
order and try further meals.
Caroline will be providing one Weekend Take Home each month after that with the next one being Chef’s Bistro for Valentine’s Day.
The Take Homes will then start back up from the first week in March with Caroline’s most popular, Indian. Caroline has buffet, dinner party and business lunch bookings already throughout the year. Contact the Facebook page for more information.
Having signed from Wakefield Trinity Dave made his Bramley debut on the left wing in the 11-16 home defeat against Leeds in the opening match of the 1966-67 season, writes Paul Abraham.
His first points for the club came as he kicked three goals in the stunning 20-18 Yorkshire Cup victory at Leeds while his first try in the Bramley colours was scored in the 23-7 stroll at home to Liverpool City.
He would go on to score a further four tries that season, these being in the home win against York (21-11) and in the away matches at Wakefield (11-21), Keighley (11-22) and Hunslet (14-10) he also kicked 32 goals in the season including six in the 42-8 demolition of Dewsbury at home.
Dave Sampson, Bramley Rugby League Club
In all he started in 31 matches including 26 at left centre, 4 at right centre and his debut on the left wing.
The 1967-68 season saw Dave make his 50th appearance for the club in the impressive 11-5 win at Huddersfield in December.
He scored a try in the first match of the season, an 11-24 home defeat to Leeds and two games later in the 8-53 loss to a magnificent Wigan side at Central Park.
One of the best results for the Bramley side was the shock 12-10 victory at Wakefield Trinity where Dave romped over for a try, other tries came in matches at home to Keighley (24-10), Castleford (10-21) and Blackpool Borough (46-14) and trips to Featherstone (3-10) and Keighley (14-0).
The following season resulted in Dave scoring five tries, unfortunately all in defeats, firstly in successive matches away at Rochdale (12-22) followed by at home to Featherstone (3-20) and then in both games against Halifax (8-23 away and 17-25 at home) and finally at Batley (12-25).
In all he played in 30 matches including the impressive away victories at Huddersfield (6-5) and Whitehaven (10-7).
Another 31 starts plus two substitute appearances in the 1969-70 season brought Dave just two tries.
But what an important two tries they were as they helped Bramley defeat the very strong Hull side 16-15 at home and then defeat Keighley on their own pitch 7-0 in the Rugby League Challenge Cup.
The match at Castleford in October was Dave’s 100th start in the amber and black jersey, sadly it ended in a 5-15 defeat to classy Cas.
The 1970-71 season saw Dave score his only try of the season in the 27-5 Yorkshire Cup victory at McClaren Field.
While not scoring tries himself he was the provider to many of his winger Peter Goodchild’s 15 tries that season. He had his kicking boots on in two consecutive matches when he kicked four goals in the 23-5 home victory against Hunslet and then another three in the 9-29 defeat at home to Leeds.
Bramley had a very successful run in the Rugby League Challenge Cup during the 1971-72 campaign when they reached the quarter-final before losing at home to Warrington,
But it was the second round match against Bradford Northern in front of a record 7,500 crowd at McClaren Field which is remembered for the news that the Bradford players were so confident of winning against “little” Bramley that it was reported in the YEP that they accepted an offer of double pay for a win but nothing for a draw or loss.
Robin Dewhirst kicked four goals as Bramley dumped them out of the cup 8-4!
Dave scored a brace of tries in the 17-5 defeat of Hunslet at Parkside and then a try in a 14-27 defeat at Bradford Northern.
The 27-11 home win versus Doncaster saw Dave’s 150th appearance for the club while his 150th “start” came in the 0-21 defeat at Barrow.
Bramley were now entering a golden era in their long history and after an excellent season they had qualified for a place in the new First Division of the Rugby League for the following season.
Although Dave only made 15 starts he contributed greatly be scoring tries in victories at home to Doncaster (34-6), Keighley (8-5), Bradford Northern (20-13) and Hunslet (15-8), his other try came in the 18-26 defeat at Hull.
He also kicked two goals in the crucial 13-10 victory at Odsal.
Bramley now had their greatest season in their 94 year history as they won the BBC 2 Floodlit Trophy and reached the semi-final of the John Player Trophy.
Player-coach Arthur Keegan pulled of a stroke of genius as he played Dave in the second row for the first time in an outstanding 30-18 win at Oldham in the fourth match of the season.
Dave excelled in the pack and made 19 appearances in the second row and ten at prop-forward.
His only try of the season came in the BBC 2 Floodlit Final when he scored the crucial try as Bramley stunned the sporting world by defeating cup-kings Widnes on their own pitch 15-7 in a never to be forgotten match.
He also kicked three important goals in the league victories at Whitehaven (19-12), Wakefield Trinity (18-13) and in the Good Friday match at Leeds (17-13) which confirmed that Bramley could not be relegated.
During this spectacular season Dave made his 200th appearance in the 0-9 defeat at Warrington while his 200th “start” came at Leigh in a 0-7 reverse.
After the highs of the previous season Bramley had a disappointing 1974-75 season which saw them relegated.
The two Yorkshire Cup ties resulted in Dave scoring in successive matches, firstly in the record-breaking 52-17 first round win at home to Doncaster and then in the 10-23 loss at Hull Kingston Rovers, his only other score being a drop-goal in the 6-9 loss at home to Widnes.
The 1975-76 season resulted in just eight “starts” and one substitute appearance for Dave although the 27-9 victory at home to New Hunslet provided Dave with his 250th first team appearance.
The following season and with Peter Fox as coach Bramley gained promotion back to the first division when they won 14 consecutive league matches.
Dave finished the season having started in 18 matches and came on as substitute twice.
He scored his only try in the nail-biting 19-21 home defeat against York and also kicked a drop-goal in the 6-11 home defeat to Widnes in the first round of the Rugby League Challenge Cup.
The 5-20 BBC 2 Floodlit Trophy defeat at Wakefield Trinity was Dave’s 250th “start” for the Villagers.
Dave finished his career at Bramley after playing in the first four matches of the 1977-78 season with his final match, fittingly at home to his former club Wakefield Trinity in the BBC 2 Floodlit Trophy, a match which Bramley lost 4-14.
Dave was then transferred to Castleford where he would eventually become first-team coach. Without question a Bramley legend and fans favourite.
Some of you may remember the TV series Heartbeat or seen the repeats on ITV, writes Mark Stevenson.
The scenes that were filmed in the police cells were filmed in Otley – not exactly West Leeds I know, but bear with me.
Sloan and Davidson on the floor of the police cells in Otley. Photo: Mark Stevenson
I went to see these cells (anyone can) when I noticed a ‘frosted’ window on the floor (not sure what they are called) and I noticed it was made by Sloan and Davidson Leeds.
I had seen this name before on manhole covers around Leeds, so I decided to look the name up.
Stanningley past: A William Barraclough manhole on Bagley Lane, Farsley. Photo: Mark Stevenson
Turns out the company was based at 177 Kirkstall Road the old Thyssenkrupp site in 1894 and the Carrick Foundry in Stanningley (roughly where Stanningley Fire Station is now) in 1918.
Next time you see a manhole cover with Sloan and Davidson on you could be looking at a piece of West Leeds history that could date back a 100 years or more.
You can also see manhole covers cast by Arthur Gibbs and Son of Pudsey and William Barraclough of Providence and Victoria Ironworks, Stanningley, as you walk around West Leeds.
During World War One Sloan and Davidson advertised that they made castings for the construction and erection of aeroplane and airship sheds. They employed 108 men and no women.
A scaled-down application has been submitted to build four one-bedroom flats at two businesses on Town Street in Stanningley, writes Keely Bannister.
The flats will be created by adapting current living and storage space and building two new extensions – a first floor extension at Shalamar restaurant and an extension above and behind at next doors Bennetts Fisheries.
A document submitted with the current application by agent MAS Design Consultants of Guiseley reveals that a meeting was held with a Leeds City Council planning officer in early December 2019 where it was agreed that the scheme would be reduced from six to four flats to “minimise the new build and maximise the landscaped area”.
The document adds:
“Following consultation with the client it has been clarified that the existing area previously shown as unable to access for survey to the rear of 139 Town Street is in actual fact an existing bedsit unit with an existing tenant who has lived at the address for a number of years.
“Additionally, the existing flat on the first floor of no.139 Town Street has been a three-bed flat for a number of years as existing, however, the client believes that single bedroom flats are better suited to this location.”
Environmental Health were consulted as part of the previous withdrawn application, with them recommending refusal due to the high number of commercial premises in proximity and the likelihood of odour and noise nuisance.
To combat this, it is stated that the windows of this new development will be sealed with an acoustic glazing and a whole house ventilation system will be installed.
As with the previous application, no on-site parking will be provided as part of the application.
Farsley Celtic and Barnet face a replay in London on Tuesday evening, after the home side earned a deserved FA Trophy replay with a 1-1 draw.
The visitors from the higher Vanarama National League dominated the opening exhanges and went ahead within the opening 10 minutes through Simeon Akinola.
But The Celts grew into the tie and Tyler Walton’s well-taken strike in the 53rd minute in front of 400 fans saw the Celts earn a midweek replay.
Dispatch photographer Simon Cullingworth was on hand to capture the action at The Citadel:
Farsley Celtic had a strong penalty appeal turned down following a clear push in the first half. Photo: Simon CullingworthMore shirt pulling in the penalty area.
A senior councillor has again raised concerns about planned new bus priority corridor improvements in West Leeds.
Councillor Andrew Carter (Conservative, Calverley & Farsley Ward) said the proposed improvements along the A647 could cause disruption for the local area and may actually worsen problems for travellers and local people.
Cllr Andrew Carter
The proposals along the corridor include bus lanes in both directions along Bradford Road between Dawson’s Corner and Thornbury Roundabout, new pedestrian crossings and cycle lanes, junction improvements and bus gates.
Leeds City Council is holding a public drop-in event about the proposals in Armley on 29th January, with the scheme set to get under way in February.
“I remain concerned about several aspects of this scheme, particularly about the impact on businesses and also the potential for local parking and traffic problems to be made worse. With new restrictions on the main road, cars are likely to try to use residential streets which don’t have the capacity to take extra traffic, creating added congestion and pollution.
“We all want to see investment in our transport infrastructure and initiatives that can cut journey times for local people, but schemes need to be properly designed and take account of any negative consequences.
“The Highways department have not, in my view, taken proper consideration of how to deal with residential on street parking, which will certainly be made worse by these proposals. Residents’ only permits must be introduced.
“The Council is also still missing a big piece in its transport strategy – a mass transit solution that can really tackle some of the significant long standing problems that Leeds suffers from. Without that, bus schemes, however well-meaning, are limited in how much real benefit they can bring.
“I would urge all local people to attend the forthcoming drop-in event planned on 29 January.”
As reported by WLD earlier this week, there is a drop-in event between 3pm-8pm on 29 January at Wesley Road Chapel, Wesley Road, Armley for local people to find out more about the project and how construction work will affect them.
Works – which are scheduled to last until Spring 2021 – include:
New bus lanes, parking restrictions and new crossings to the section of the A647 between Bradford Border to Dawsons Corner;
Traffic signal upgrades with buses given priority at junctions between Dawsons Corner and Bramley Town End Roundabout;
The conversion of Stanningley Road’s High Occupancy Vehicle Lane (two-plus lane) into a bus lane, apart from a section between Cockshott Lane and Armley Ridge Road during peak periods to maintain existing on-street parking provision for residents, as well as the extension of the bus lane linking up Bramley Town End roundabout;
Cockshott Lane and Armley Ridge Road junction changes along Stanningley Road and the creation of a new crossing at Redcote Lane;
Changes at the Ledgard Way/Armley Road (Mike Carpets) junction with a reduction in the movements allowed between 11am and 7pm, with changes to Pickering Street to help accommodate more traffic movements as a result; and
A reduction of Branch Road to a single lane allowing widening of the footway and tree planting.
Cllr Lisa Mulherin (Lab), Executive Member for Climate Change, Transport and Sustainable Development, hit back at Cllr Carter’s criticism back in October. She said:
“We all share the desire to see a mass transit system in Leeds or beyond. While we work with West Yorkshire Combined Authority on new proposals to determine what this could look like, we remain committed to investing in bus travel for the people who live and work in our city.
“Making bus journeys faster and much more reliable is crucial to creating a shift from people using cars to buses.
“The A647 sees bus delays that impact on people’s lives making it hard to get to work on time, make important appointments or plan journeys with any kind of reliability. This scheme will make a positive difference to people travelling by bus.
“This scheme underwent significant consultation and looked to address residents’ and business concerns over parking as much as possible while still making the very necessary improvements to the corridor.
“Many sections of bus lane will be restricted to peak hours only to allow for resident and business parking on the highway outside of these hours, including in Calverley and Farsley.”
Staff from HSBC’s Leeds call centre have donated their cycles to a Wortley organisation which refurbished unwanted bikes.
The Bikes College (TBC) are a West Leeds community interest company which refurbishes bikes donated directly from the public or collected from Leeds City Council’s household waste recycling sites.
Their aim is to make cycling accessible to everyone, regardless of age or financial status, by offering bikes at highly discounted prices to fund their talent development programme and numerous other initiatives across the city and beyond.
TBC recently partnered with Leeds’ HSBC call centre and long-termpartner Enterprise Van Hire to offer a workplace collection point for HSBC employees to donate their unwanted bikes over a two week period.
20 bikes were collected and employees donating were offered a free puncture repair kit.
More workplace donation schemes with number of employees in the city and beyond are planned.
New Pudsey Station. Photo: Ian Kirk, used under Creative Commons licence
Leeds West MP Rachel Reeves has written to transport secretary Grant Shapps over concerns that the government is yet to clarify its plans for the Northern Rail franchise.
Her letter comes as Mr Shapps visited Leeds today. He acknowledged that rail users deserve better, but admitted Northern passengers could wait ‘months or years’ for a significant improvement of the rail network.
But Pudsey Conservative MP Stuart Andrew today welcomed Mr Shapps’ commitment to protect the services currently under the Arriva Rail North franchise in light of the franchise’s financial difficulties.
Concerned: Leeds West MP Rachel Reeves at Bramley Station
In a letter to the secretary of state, Ms Reeves asked for assurances on when a reliable train service would be delivered for people in West Leeds and beyond, said:
“The need for change has been clear for a long time, yet there is still no end in sight for passengers who have had to endure these problems for far too long.
“While Northern’s record is lamentable, many of the underlying issues contributing to the problem of unreliable services are caused by poor infrastructure.
“To rectify this problem, the government must urgently invest in railway infrastructure. What plans does your department have to delivery the improvements that we urgently need?”
Mr Shapps today expressed the Department for Transport’s commitment to taking action to ensure Northern Rail’s performance improves.
He said he will make a further announcement about the way forward at the end of the month, but warned it will take ‘months and years’ to see a full improvement of everything
Pudsey MP Stuart Andrew
Stuart Andrew, MP for Pudsey, Horsforth and Aireborough, welcomed Mr Shapps’ commitment to protect the services under the Arriva Rail North franchise in light of the franchise’s financial difficulties.
Recent financial information has demonstrated that the franchise will only be able to continue for a number of months alone and the Department for Transport is considering whether to take over the franchise or allow them to continue.
The Department for Transport have confirmed that the current financial position of the Northern franchise will not impact on the railways day-to-day operations. Services will continue to run and there will be no impact on railway staff. Mr Andrew said:
“I am delighted to hear that intervention is being taken by the Government to address the ailing Northern franchise.
“I have spoken to many of my constituents over the years and this is very much an ongoing and frustrating issue. Many of us rely on the railway to get to and from work and it is essential that the services are reliable and punctual, which they have not been for some time.
“I am very pleased that the Secretary of State for Transport has listened to my constituents and many others in the North who are subjected to this franchise. I look forward to hearing what action is being taken at the end of this month and I will be keeping my constituents informed of any developments.”
The men in charge of Northern and its parent company Arriva Rail North were grilled about the poor performance of the franchise at a Transport for the North meeting in Leeds yesterday, but the financial problems were not mentioned.
