Sir- The formal period for public comments on the Leeds City Council’s proposal to put houses on Wortley’s historic sports ground ended at the weekend. 378 submissions were received – just three were in favour of the proposals!
If the City Council needed convincing of the total unpopularity of its plans to get its hands on the site for development, this is it. It could hardly be more overwhelming. Among significant objectors are Sport England and Leeds Civic Trust.
The question now for the City Council is whether it will accept defeat gracefully and withdraw its planning application or whether it will ignore all the evidence and go on to put its plans before council members.
If it still tries to continue then I trust that city councillors will kick it firmly into touch.
It is primarily a matter of principle and would be a complete breach of trust but, if necessary, the local TV Harrison Community Action Group will take legal action to point out the breaches of the covenants on the land.
Once the threat of the City Council’s development is removed we can get on with the far better task of putting together a consortium of the interested parties and funding bodies to restore the site and to make it available for a wide range of outdoor and indoor sports.
- Michael Meadowcroft, chair TV Harrison Community Action Group, Wortley
Read WLD‘s ongoing coverage on this issue here.