By Noelle Williamson
Hough Top residents and footballers are “frustrated, angry and at their wits’ end” over what they say is Leeds City Council’s refusal to address parking problems in the community.
They say the issue should be sorted before plans for 82 local authority homes at Hough Top are decided.
Drivers attending training activities and football matches on the three Hough Top playing fields regularly double park for a quarter of a mile or more along Hough Top, with many vehicles parked fully on the pavement.
Pedestrians say they are forced off the pavement, placing parents with pushchairs and young children – along with people on mobility scooters – onto a road which is already too narrow for vehicles to pass freely. They say property and cars have been damaged, tempers flare and arguments occur.
Residents have sent written testimony and over 100 photos of the situation to various departments in Leeds City Council over the past year but say nothing has been done that addresses or eases the problems.
On Thursday, August 1, the South and West Plans Panel will make a final decision on a planning application to build 82 new homes at Hough Top.
Swinnow resident Dr Diane Elvidge says residents are not against the development but says two new roads – and the double yellow lines around both – will significantly reduce football parking space and exacerbate the problem.
Dr Elvidge said: “Residents think the council should not even be thinking of approving the application before the investigation is complete. We are not against development of the site for housing. Far from it. We are saying that the council needs to look seriously at changing the design and layout of the proposal given the current, and predicted future, levels of the football parking issues.”
The three Hough Top playing fields constitute a significant community resource and a nursery for future players. Nine adult and youth teams from three clubs, including Pudsey Town FC, play their matches, with activities on both weekends and weekday evenings almost all year round.
Richard Poole, manager and chairman of Pudsey Town, says: “I am passionate about developing my team and grassroots football in general on the Hough Top playing fields.
“The parking problem is a big factor in hindering that development. It causes community tension and reduces attendances at events. The council should be doing all they can to improve the situation so that everyone is able to enjoy football safely and not be negatively impacted by it.”
All three Pudsey councillors agree that the situation is unacceptable. Councillor Simon Seary (Cons, Pudsey) said: “The parking [for] the council-owned football playing fields on Hough Top is dangerous and unsustainable. Leeds City Council has an opportunity to help resolve this issue for the residents and the wider community, but they turn a blind eye to it.”
Bob Myers, a retired firefighter who lives on Hough Top, said: “With my experience of firefighting, I can say access to properties by emergency vehicles is not guaranteed during football activities. Adding 82 new homes whose sole vehicular access is on Hough Top into the current situation is of particular concern to me from a fire safety point of view.”
Dr Elvidge added: “From a Freedom of Information Request, we saw that the design and layout of the proposal, particularly in relation to the football parking problems, was the top concern of the community. We are asking Leeds City Council to work with residents and the local football community to address these issues.”
Another concern raised by residents relating to the design of the proposal is the addition of approximately 200m of railings along the edge of the pavement on Hough Top, where football vehicles currently park.
Jeff Brown, another resident, added: “We already have problems getting past cars parked fully on the pavement during football matches. Putting railings alongside the pavements, taking away use of the grass verge that is currently there, will only make this worse for everyone.”
The planning application for new local authority homes will be put to the South and West Plans Panel this Thursday, August 1. Council planning officers have recommended its approval.
The agenda and council documents can be read in full here. The south and west plans panel meeting takes place at Leeds Civic Hall at 1.30pm.
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The council might like to recall (well probably, they won’t like to recall it) the example of the TV Harrison Ground application in Wortley, which was also covered extensively in WLD.
Over that application, (also for affordable housing) our now Chancellor and Pudsey MP Rachel Reeves strongly criticised the Council for their lack of consultation and refusal to listen to the local community. This was a case the Council eventually lost at Judicial Review.
Hough Top is going the same way – a further waste of public money due to the current inflexibility and bias of the planning process.
All they have to do is make a few layout and design changes as suggested by the residents and asked for by the Plans Panel members and most of the issues can be mitigated.
Sounds like the problem isn’t with the planning application, but the inconsiderate football players. Can they be fined for pavement parking? Or one of the fields converted into a car park?