Farnley Academy have sent a proud message to Leeds United midfielder Kalvin Phillips following his England debut against Denmark this evening.
Phillips, aged 24, attended Farnley Academy as a boy – and his former school were quick to tweet their congratulations after he was named in the starting lineup for the Nations League.
The Leeds United star was replaced by Jack Grealish after 76 minutes in a 0-0 draw, but that didn’t stop proud Farnley Academy turning to social media to Tweet:
Congratulations to our former student @Kalvinphillips tonight; to represent @LUFC is a dream for many to play for your country is the pinnacle of excellence. A wonderful young man whose community are very proud of him.
Phillips learned his trade as a youngster at Wortley FC between 2003 and 2010.
Phillips last year played a part in helping Wortley FC secure planning permission for new pitches on the former Wortley High School playing fields, off Blue Hill Lane.
As reported by WLD, in a letter supporting the planning application, 24-year-old Phillips thanked the club for its support as a young player and said it was ‘good to hear’ about the plans.
Wortley FC also tweeted their pride at local lad Phillips’ international debut:
It won’t be long until the midfielder is back in action again, with Leeds kicking off their return to the Premier League by taking on Liverpool at Anfield.
2019's Bramley Park Bonfire was the last one to be held. Photo: Simon Cullingworth
The popular November 5 bonfire and fireworks in Bramley Park has been cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The council-run annual event often draws thousands to Bramley Park – alongside five other events across Leeds at Roundhay Park, East End Park, Middleton Park, Springhead Park and Woodhouse Moor.
Council chiefs say it would not be possible to ensure that sufficient controls could be put in place to host the events safely and not put pressure on public transport. A council source told WLD:
“It has been necessary to reluctantly make the decision to cancel the annual bonfire and firework displays that were due to be held in November 2020.”
Rersidents and motorists can have their say on a series of new parking and highways restrictions in Armley as part of £16 million scheme to improve roads between Leeds and Bradford.
Leeds City Council is proposing a number of traffic orders as part of the Stanningley Road bus priority scheme, which aims to improve public transport access into Leeds city centre on the A647.
Work is set to include replacing current high occupancy vehicle lanes on Stanningley Road with extended bus lanes and further bus priority measures at traffic signals.
It is also set to include improvements to the Armley Road/Ledgard Way junction and Pickering Street, reducing ‘delays to general traffic and improving safety for all users’, as well as ‘segregated lanes to complement the Leeds Bradford cycle superhighway’. Plans also include the removal of the high occupancy vehicle lane down Stanningley Road.
Leeds City Council is hoping to introduce the following traffic orders:
No Loading or Unloading between 7am-10am & between 4pm-7pm Monday to Friday (inclusive) on:- a. Canal Road, (north-west side), from its junction with Armley Park Road, in a north easterly direction for a distance of 87 metres. b. Canal Road, (south-east side), from its junction with Pickering Street for a distance of 76.5 metres in a north easterly direction c. Pickering Street, (south-west side) – the whole side.
No Waiting At Any Time on:- a. Armley Park Road, (north-east side), from its junction with Canal Road in a north westerly direction for a distance of 19.5 metres. b. Armley Park Road, (south-west side), from its junction with Canal Road in a north westerly direction for a distance of 11 metres. c. Aviary Road, (north-east side), from its junction with Canal Road for a distance of 11.5 metres in a north westerly direction. d. Canal Road, (north-west side), from its junction with Ledgard Way, in a north easterly direction to a point 87 metres north east of it junction with Armley Park Road. e. Canal Road, (south-east side), from its intersection with Armley Road, in a north easterly direction to a point 76.5 metres north east of its junction with the Pickering Street. f. Pickering Street, (east side), from its junction with Armley Road, in a northerly direction to a point 15.5 metres south of its junction with Pickering Mount. g. Pickering Street, (north-east side), from its junction with Canal Road to a point 40.5 metres north west of its junction with of Pickering Mount. h. Pickering Street, (north-east side), from a point 5.5 metres north west of its junction with Pickering Mount, in a south easterly direction for a distance of 20 metres i. Pickering Street, (west side), the whole side.
No Waiting from 7.00am to 10.00am or from 4.00pm to 7.00pm (all days) on:- a. Pickering Street, (north-east side), from a point 5.5 metres south east of its junction with Pickering Mount, in a south easterly direction for a distance of 10 metres b. Pickering Street, (north-east side), from a point 5.5 metres north west of its junction with Pickering Mount, in a north westerly direction for a distance of 35 metres.
On Street Time Limited Parking from 10.00am to 4.00pm (all days); 3 Hours No Return Within 1 Hour on:- a. Pickering Street (north-east side|), from a point 5.5 metres south east of its junction with Pickering Mount, in a south easterly direction for a distance of 10 metres. b. Pickering Street (north-east side), from a point 5.5 metres north west of its junction with the projected northern kerb line of Pickering Mount in a north westerly direction for a distance of 35 metres
Bus Taxi & Pedal Cycle Lanes With Flow (All Days All Hours) on:- a. Armley Road, (South Side – Nearside Lane); from a point 129.5 metres north west of it of Armley Retail Park Access Road in a westerly direction for a distance of 416 metres. b. Stanningley Bypass, (North West Side – Nearside Lane); from a point 169 metres south west of its intersection with Henconner Lane, in a north easterly direction to its junction with Stanningley Road c. Stanningley Road, (North East Side – Nearside Lane); from a point 133 metres south east of its junction with the Armley Ridge Road in a south easterly direction for a distance of 425 metres d. Stanningley Road (North East Side – Nearside Lane) From a point 61 metres east of its junction with Henconner Lane in a easterly direction, to a point 59 metres south east of its junction with the Houghley Lane
A Bus Taxi & Pedal Cycle Lane With Flow (All days – 7.00am to 10.00am & 4.00pm to 7.00pm inclusive) on a. Stanningley Road, (North East Side – Nearside Lane); from a point 74 metres south east of its junction with Cockshott Lane, in a south easterly direction to a point 21.5 metres north west of its junction with Armley Ridge Road.
A Point Closure on Canal Road, from its junction with Armley Road in a north easterly direction for a distance of 9 metres
A Prohibited Left Turn from Ledgard Way into Armley Road.
A Prohibited Right Turn from Armley Road into Ledgard Way.
Mandatory Right Turns from Back Nunnington Street into Armley Park Road, and also from Branch Road into Armley Road.
One Way Traffic Flow (North West to South East) on Armley Park Road, from its junction with Nunnington Street in a south easterly direction to its junction with Canal Road.
Anyone wishing to object to, or make any representations concerning the proposed Orders, should write to Development Team, Legal Services, Civic Hall, Leeds LS1 1UR or e-mail legal.development@leeds.gov.uk specifying the grounds upon which it is made, by no later than 25 September 2020 quoting reference A76/JL/A647.
Leeds Civic Hall. Photo: John Baron/westleedsdispatch.com
Leeds City Council may have to reconsider whether it still needs to build on green belt sites in the district, according to a report by the authority’s own officers, writes Richard Beecham.
A document went before the councillors today claiming the “healthy” number of sites currently under construction, as well as uncertainty around Covid-19’s effects on housebuilding, mean the council will have to determine “whether there is a need” to include the 37 green belt sites it had originally included in its long term housing plans.
It follows a decision from the High Court last month, which ruled the inclusion of green belt sites on the council’s Site Allocations Plan (SAP) would have to be removed from the plans and sent back to the government for approval.
If all 37 sites were taken out of the council’s submission, this would potentially mean thousands fewer houses would be built on greenfield sites across the city in the coming years.
The SAP – a council document outlining sites where future housing and commercial developments should take place over the coming years – was adopted by Leeds City Council in July 2019. This is required by every local authority in the country, as it demonstrates whether each area is able to meet government targets for the building of the new houses likely to be needed in future.
However, a legal challenge to the SAP from the Aireborough Neighbourhood Development Forum claimed there was an “error of law” relating to all potential green belt housing sites across the city.
This resulted in the High Court ruling last month that all 37 sites in the SAP that were previously in the greenbelt would be considered as “not adopted” and sent back to the government and planning inspectorate for further examination.
Councils are required to have enough capacity to build houses over the next five years – this is known as a five-year land supply. Council officers claim Leeds still met the required land supply as, even without the 37 greenbelt sites, there are still enough sites in the SAP for another six years.
Their report claimed the current state of housebuilding in the city was “healthy”, adding:
“Building control returns reveal that there are over 100 outlets operating district-wide with more than 5,000 individual plots actively being built across all markets and locations.
“There is a total stock of almost 29,000 new homes with planning permission reflective of the greatest level of outstanding capacity in over a decade. In addition, the Government’s recent announcements including increased permitted development rights for new housing may further boost the picture of supply.
“At this stage it is too early to tell what the impacts of the pandemic will be on the supply and delivery of housing. Whilst construction inevitably slowed during the lockdown months there are signs that this is now quickly recovering and Government has put in place measures to stimulate the house building sector.
“All these factors will need consideration in order to determine whether there is a need for any or all of the Green Belt allocations listed in the schedule.”
The report claimed Leeds City Council would now “update its evidence base”, and decide if any changes need to be made to the plan, including whether any or all of the 37 sites should be taken out of the final submission to government.
It added: “The effect of the judgement is to revoke the adoption of 4,070 new homes across 37 sites.
“In some instances, it may, however, be the case that individual developments in specific contexts are able to demonstrate very special circumstances for development in the Green Belt, and therefore acquire planning consent in spite of no longer being allocated and being returned to the Green Belt.”
The council expects to conclude this process within six-to-eight weeks. New proposals would then be sent to government for approval.
Which West Leeds sites are on the list?
All addresses are followed by the proposed housing capacity for that site.
Whitehall Road, Harpers Farm, Farnley – 279 Calverley Cutting, Apperley Bridge – 32 Woodhall Road, Gain Lane, Thornbury – 196 Daleside Road, Thornbury North – 89 Waterloo Road, Pudsey – 28 Dick Lane, Thornbury – 206 Tyersal Road, Pudsey – 33 Land off Tyersal Court, Tyersal – 46
“10-year planning shambles”
A Calverley & Farsley councillor has branded the ongoing uncertainty around the authority’s housebuilding targets a “10-year planning shambles”.
Cllr Andrew Carter
The comments were made by the leader of the authority’s opposition Conservatives group Coun Andrew Carter, who claimed 37 green belt sites were “needlessly put at risk” of housing development by the council.
It follows a high court ruling last month, in which a judge found that an “error of law” was made in including sites formerly in the green belt in the council’s long term Site Allocations Plan (SAP) for housing, and that the sites should be immediately taken out and re-examined by the government.
But the council’s executive member for housing Coun Lisa Mulherin hit back at Coun Carter, claiming the errors of law were made by government planning inspectors in the first place, and that the changes could make it difficult for people to buy houses in communities outside the inner-city.
The SAP lists sites on which the council feels are appropriate for to build new houses over the coming years, in order to meet housing targets given to the authority by the government.
Leeds’s SAP was adopted by the council in July 2019, following a public inquiry and report by government planning inspectors. However, this was subject to a legal challenge by Aireborough residents before, in June 2020, a judge found that three of the seven grounds used in the SAP constituted errors of law.
This led to a recent order that all 37 sites in the SAP that had been in the green belt should be handed back to the government for examination.
Coun Carter told a meeting of the council’s housing scrutiny committee:
“I can only describe this now as a 10-year planning shambles, culminating in this court case.
“To be frank, it is no good saying ‘the inspectors got it wrong’ – the inspectors came to their conclusions because of all the evidence presented by (Labour’s) administration. You can share the blame equally.
“The sad thing about this is that 37 green belt sites were needlessly put at risk. We still have a 6.1 year land supply. There is also a total number of new homes with planning permission outstanding of 29,000 – that is the highest capacity in over a decade.”
Coun Carter claimed that, in chasing such a high housing total in the first place, the council had hamstrung itself into having to find unsuitable sites to build on, leading to the recent judgement.
He added: “It leads me to believe that if you’d accepted a lesser total figure. There wouldn’t have been the need for the most sensitive of these green belt sites to be included, and that would have led, probably, to no legal challenge – this is a hugely self-inflicted wound.
“Throughout this process, the council has based its assumptions on very optimistic levels of economic growth. If it was ever likely to be that high in the first place, it certainly isn’t now post-Covid.
“I do hope that officers are going to properly look at economic data coming back to us.”
The meeting heard that even when the green belt sites were taken out of the plans, the council still had a surplus of sites for housing. But Coun Lisa Mulherin, the council’s executive member for housing, suggested this could lead to poorer, more urban areas taking on a disproportionate amount of new houses.
“The allegation that officers in this council hadn’t done their jobs properly in terms of presenting information needs to be refuted,” she said. “We are up against what was written in the inspector’s report in which the judge has found fault.
“(Under the current plans) The housing land supply is delivered, effectively, by the city centre and inner areas delivering way above their requirements, and outer areas delivering rather less of that.
“In terms of having availability of housing for all our communities, and wanting to be able to buy homes near the area they grew up in – that presents a challenge.
“We hopefully can move forward in terms of developing a proper local plan that has all the priorities in tackling the climate emergency.
“I am keen not to go back through a lengthy process and move forward to get some of the housing to meet the challenges of the future and tackles the climate emergency.”
Cllr Kevin Ritchie
Committee member Coun Kevin Ritchie (Lab, Bramley & Stanningley) added:
“The imbalance of the housing allocations across the city where we have a massive surplus in the city centre and the inner areas.
“Even anecdotally, we know there is a need for housing in those outer areas where young people want to stay in the places they grew up in. This imbalance of the allocations could have consequences for us, but it does worry me.”
The meeting heard that, while it is likely to take around six-to-eight weeks for the council to resubmit its green belt sites, it was unclear how long the government would take to review make a judgement on whether they were suitable.
Calverley Library is to re-open on Thursday for the first time since lockdown began in March – and it’s hoped Farsley Library will follow soon after.
Calverley Library closed due to the Coronavirus pandemic while Farsley had been undergoing a conversation into a community hub before lockdown came into force.
Cllr Peter Carlill
The news has been welcomed by Cllr Peter Carlill (Lab, Calverley & Farsley). He said:
“It’s great to receive news that Calverley Library is planned to reopen on Thursday, and Farsley will hopefully follow soon after following the successful refurbishment works.
“There will be a range of measures in place to ensure safety of people using the library and library staff, including a limit to the number of people inside at anyone time and visitors will need to sanitise their hands before handling books and wear a face mask for the duration of their visit.
“You will be able to browse books as usual, but can call and reserve books if you prefer just to pick them up.
“I’m really pleased that the refurbishments to Farsley Library were able to be continued during the closure and I was following these closely to ensure its reopening would not be delayed much further.”
One of Leeds’s most senior civil servants has claimed the city may have to face “movement restrictions” if the district’s spread of Covid-19 continues to worsen, writes Richard Beecham.
A meeting of councillors and council officers heard how, while clusters of infections in Kirkstall and Harehills were now under control, there was still a problem of younger people mixing together and spreading the virus.
Mariana Pexton, the council’s chief corporate support officer, claimed that measures might have to be introduced to restrict individuals’ movements if infection rates continued to worsen. But she added such measures might have to be different to those from recent local lockdowns in areas such as Bradford and Kirklees.
Ms Pexton told Leeds City Council’s strategy and resources scrutiny board:
“If you take Leicester, Blackburn and some of our neighbours, they were seeing some quite tightly-clustered outbreaks in communities.
“They had instructions not to mix households – they didn’t affect things to do with work.
“We have two very different patterns emerging – one is community clusters which we are working on and are turning around – Kirkstall has definitely turned around and Harehills is definitely stable now.
“But we have this more dynamic pattern now of young people, across the city. It is more to do with social gatherings, coming back from holiday and exam celebrations. The solution to that is potentially different in terms of movement restrictions.
“We are ramping communications up to tackle that and stem that flow of the increase. If we need to, we will need to consider movement restrictions.
“There is political engagement in terms of what type of restrictions take place. It’s far from linear, it’s much more complicated than that. We need to be proportionate and measured about it.”
It follows claims earlier this month from the council’s CEO Tom Riordan, who said more work was being done avoid “raves and unlicensed events” to prevent the spread of the virus among young people.
Following Mr Riordan’s comments, Leeds was added as an “area of concern” on the government’s Coronavirus “watch list” on Friday, September 4.
The latest rolling seven-day infection rate in Leeds shows 41.6 cases per 100,000 people, up from 27.5 the previous seven days and the highest rate since mid-May.
Popular parkruns could re-start in Armley and Bramley for the first time since lockdown in March.
Parkrun Global Chief Executive Officer Nick Pearson today announced his intent to resume events in England toward the end of October.
Diane and Sibella. Photo: Samantha Stewart
The announcement will come as a welcome boost to volunteers running events in Armley Park and Bramley Park. Mr Pearson said:
“Whilst the public health benefits of parkrun events have been clear for many years, the last six months have increased inequalities around health and wellbeing, with many people more isolated and less active than ever in their life.
“Across many communities our events provide the most accessible and inclusive opportunities for people, of all abilities and backgrounds, to come together and be active.
“Disadvantaged communities have been hit the hardest and likely have the most challenging journeys ahead of them, and with every passing week, and with winter approaching, those challenges become greater.”
A review by Canterbury Christ Church University concluded that, with appropriate mitigations in place, it is possible to deliver outdoor events and activities across a range of sectors, and of varying sizes and formats, in a way that does not significantly increase risk of COVID-19 transmission. Mr Pearson added:
“Today represents the start of the next phase in reopening our events, and we know there is much work ahead. Over the coming weeks we will be working closely with landowners and stakeholders across the country so that we can best address their concerns and support their own positions relating to gatherings at their venues.”
The full statement and more details about Parkrun’s return, can be read here.
Farnley Falcons' new facilities will be based here off Butt Lane. Stockhoto: Google, 2020
Farnley Falcons rugby club has received much-needed planning permission to build a new permanent clubhouse and changing facilities.
The club, which caters for more than 100 youngsters each week, has been operating out of temporary steel containers which act as changing rooms off Butt Lane.
It used to be based at nearby Farnley Sports and Social Club until it closed in late 2014 and was then demolished after an arson attack in 2015 and replaced with houses.
Firefighters tackling the blaze at the former Farnley Sports and Social Club in August 2015. Photo: West Leeds Dispatch
The Falcons successfully applied to Leeds City Council for the demolition of existing buildings and construction of a new single-storey clubhouse and changing facilities for four teams on the green belt site.
They’ve also got the green light for associated car parking and the extension of one of existing pitches at the Butt Lane Recreation Ground in Farnley.
The club’s proposals received the support from dozens of supporters and local residents. A club statement accompanying the application added:
“The volume of visitors to Butt Lane creates huge congestion on training and game days which we would like to resolve with the creation of off-street parking. This has been widely supported during our planning application.
“There are several opportunities which our club wishes to grasp in the near future. We don’t currently offer Rugby League to the full spectrum of school children, and we could create two primary school teams to service this gap. Natural progression will see the number of Girls teams, and players, increase at the club. which will also place further stresses and challenges upon our facilities.
“The other major opportunity for our club is to establish an Over 35s ‘Masters’ team, which would expand our offering to the local community beyond that of the very competitive Men’s Rugby League currently played at Farnley.
“The opportunity to keep parents and players on Butt Lane, using our facilities, and buying our food and drink will greatly increase the income of the club and the scope to which we can best provide for both our members and the wider community.”
A planning statement accompanying the application said the new building would be sited in an unobtrusive location currently occupied by the temporary changing rooms.
Dispatch photographer Simon Cullingworth was on hand to capture the action from Farsley Celtic Women‘s FA Cup tie against Harrogate Town at The Citadel yesterday.
Sadly for Farsley, the visitors won 3-1, with Ellisa Casper’s excellent goal proving just a consolation for the home side.
Harvard Mills will be replaced by a major multi-million pound development of houses and flats.
Developers Artisan received permission to build 183 flats and 80 ‘townhouses’ at its new Kirkstall Place development back in March. Plans also include demolishing several buildings on the site, including Harvard Mills.
Posting the closure news on their Facebook page, Harvard Mills said:
“It’s with a very heavy heart that we must sadly let you know that, due to the redevelopment of the site, Harvard Mills will soon be closing down. We don’t have an exact closing date as yet but it is very likely to be within the next few months.
“We are so very grateful to all of our loyal customers for your support over the last 14 years that we have been trading here.
“As you know, we already offer the lowest, bargain prices across thousands of items, so please now take your chance to come in and stock up on even bigger bargains from us while you still have the chance.”
The Kirkstall Place development will comprise 32 one-bed and 151 two-bed apartments.
Housing plans were approved in March, despite more than 50 local objections.
The 80 townhouses would be a mix of two, three and four-bed units. Work is due to take three years to complete.
Streets around a further two West Leeds primary schools were closed to traffic during the school run from today.
Beecroft Primary School, Kirkstall and Hollybush Primary School, Bramley are among the latest raft of eight schools across the city to take part in the School Streets pilot scheme.
School Streets make roads outside schools into pedestrian and cyclist zones at the times displayed on the signs and only during term time. This helps to reduce air pollution and keep children safe from traffic.
The Leeds City Council pilot scheme uses a temporary traffic regulation order, restricting traffic to help with phased and staggered returns for those children who are going back to school. Residents living within the new school street zones have been issued with permits so that they can continue to enter and leave the zone freely.
In June, the first six Leeds schools successfully launched School Streets trials at Pudsey Primrose Hill Primary School, Pudsey; Ingram Road Primary School, Holbeck; Cross Gates Primary School, Cross Gates; Thorpe Primary School, Thorpe; Clapgate Primary, Middleton; and Lane End Primary, Beeston. These schools plan to continue with their pilots.
The council says initial feedback shows School Streets helps to make roads feel safer, improve air quality, encourage more walking, scooting and cycling to and from school, improve air quality, and reduce school-related congestion.
Leeds City Council’s executive member for climate change, transport and sustainable development, Councillor Lisa Mulherin, said:
“This is a child friendly initiative, to make the journey to school safer and healthier for Leeds children and their families. By creating a safer space for pupils to enjoy a less stressful, healthier journey by walking, cycling or scooting when they return to school we’re also promoting the physical activity that we know has a long term benefit for physical and mental health.
“Over the summer, I was pleased to receive feedback from those schools taking part, especially to hear children with confidence to walk home on their own, with many more biking, scooting or walking to school. And how much more safe they felt on the way to school. This is exactly what we’re trying to achieve and we look forward to the scheme rolling out to even more schools in future.”
The other six schools taking part in the project across Leeds also include Chapel Allerton Primary School, Chapel Allerton; Great Preston CofE Primary School, Great Preston; Hugh Gaitskell Primary School, Beeston; Middleton St Mary’s CE Primary School, Middleton; Westgate Primary School, Otley; and Woodlesford Primary School, Woodlesford.
Flytippers have targeted a New Farnley church this weekend, dumping a settee, household rubbish and bags of waste.
Church members tweeted their frustration after the discovery yesterday, alongside images of the dumped rubbish:
Sadly we’ve been targeted by fly tippers at St James’ church, New Farnley. It will cost us to remove & is incredibly frustrating. Too late for us but we pray those responsible might find grace & recognise the consequences of their actions. If anyone can help please get in touch. pic.twitter.com/qHYYsZeUgl
Farnley resident Wendy Gaunt also tweeted her concerns:
St James church New Farnley. Words don’t fail me but I’m not going to say them. If you recognise your ‘stuff’ and can let us know who took it away for you feel free to DM me.@WLDispatchpic.twitter.com/yF8fMSOHEI
The dumping comes less than a month after several tonnes of illegally dumped waste had to be removed from Green Lane in Farnley after it blocked access for emergency vehicles.
