Proposals could breathe new life into Armley Town Street

By John Baron

Armley residents can have a say on early proposals which could see the part-pedestrianisation of Armley Town Street.

Leeds City Council has put forward four potential schemes to revitalise the Town Street area as part of a prospective £20 million bid to the government’s levelling up fund in early July.

As previously reported, the proposed bid centres around the Leeds West parliamentary constituency and is called ‘Green, Healthy and Connected’. It proposes improvements to Armley, Bramley Falls, Kirkstall Abbey Park, Stanningley and Wortley’s Western Flatts parks.

Details of the indicative Armley Town Street designs have been released by the council today ahead of two public consultation events tomorrow (Saturday) and Monday.

• Saturday 21st May 2022, 10am – 12pm, Armley One Stop Centre, 2 Stocks Hill, Leeds, LS12 1UQ
• Monday 23rd May 2022, 12pm – 7pm, Armley One Stop Centre, 2 Stocks Hill, Leeds, LS12 1UQ

Council chiefs stress that the four proposals are only at an early draft stage and that some of them – including pedestrianisation and ‘bus-only’ access options – would need more detailed traffic modelling.

The aim is to make Town Street a green and healthy space which people want to visit, encourage people to spend more time in the area, have more community events, reduce bus delays, improve pedestrian safety, reduce through-traffic and traffic speeds and improve air quality and cycle links.

The four proposals are:

Proposal 1 – Street greening

This proposal includes: 

• Enhancements on existing footway areas including widening of footways, reducing street clutter and greening the street with trees and plants. 
• Rationalising and better management of the parking and loading areas. 
• Minor junction alterations. 
• Traffic levels would remain same and there would be no changes to bus routes.

Proposal 2 – Street greening and traffic calming

This proposal includes:

• As proposal 1 and also;
• Branch Road is partially pedestrianised.
• Crab Lane is made two way.
• Introduction of traffic calming to help manage vehicle speeds.
• Traffic levels remain same and no significant changes to bus routes.

Proposal 3 – Pocket parks and bus only section

This proposal includes:

• As proposal 1 and also;
• Bus only section.
• Significant traffic reduction on Town Street.
• Improved walking routes and crossing for pedestrians.
• Areas for pocket parks/extended public realm.
• Traffic re-routing to main roads.
• No change to bus routes.

Proposal 4 – Public open spaces and traffic re-routing

This proposal includes:

• As proposal 1 and also;
• Pedestrianised section of Town Street.
• Areas for pocket parks/extended public realm (see imagery below).
• Improvements for people walking and increased crossing opportunities.
• Significant traffic reduction on Town Street.
• Traffic re-routing to other main routes.
• Bus route diversions.

The £4.8 billion Levelling Up Fund invests in infrastructure that improves everyday life across the UK, including regenerating town centres, upgrading local transport, and investing in cultural and heritage assets.

As well as investments to Armley and the five parks, the bid features better walking and cycle links between the parks.

Have your say

People can view and comment on proposals for all five parks, plans for better connectivity between the parks, and the revitalisation of Armley Town Street by following this link.

Forum concern

A meeting of the Armley Forum earlier this week saw residents criticise the lack of publicity around consultation events in parks, the lack of wider press coverage – apart from West Leeds Dispatch – and that the public were not involved in shaping the designs at an earlier stage.

One attendee from the Aviary estate told the meeting: “Most people I’ve spoken to don’t know anything about it. It’s almost as if the council don’t really want people’s views.”

Leeds City Council say the proposals are only indicative and that further public consultation wasn’t possible due to the narrow timescale to get the bid in before the closing date. They also said communication was limited due to the purdah period before the May 5 local elections.

Timescale

Consultation will be held in May, as the bid will need to go before the council’s decision-making executive board for approval before being submitted to government in early July.