By John Baron
A Kirkstall councillor has urged residents to have their say on proposals to develop the long-established Headingley Station Allotments.
WLD reported last week that Leeds City Council is seeking views on a planning blueprint which could see thousands of new homes built on potential sites across Leeds – including up to 61 homes on the allotments site.
The Leeds Local Plan will guide how land is used and developed. It influences planning decisions to ensure any developments meet the needs of the community and the environment.
A range of potential sites included in the consultation were put forward by developers, landowners, residents and others.
Councillor Hannah Bithell (Lab, Kirkstall) wrote on Facebook that the council cannot pull the site out of the consultation as all the proposed sites have to be part of a wider consultation along with other suggested sites.
She and the other Kirkstall councillors say they are ‘devastated’ that a resident has put this suggestion forward
Cllr Bithell said: “It has caused a lot of unnecessary upset when no-one wants the allotments to be built on.
“The impact allotments have on people’s health mentally and physically, the community spirit of an area, combatting social isolation etc, is massive – so we want to make sure the strength of feeling is shown here.”
Cllr Bithell is urging people to make sure that they fill in the online consultation.
She added: “The only effective way to make our voices heard as a community is to fill in the consultation.
“There have already been hundreds of responses and we want to make sure that the planning department hear loud and clear that this suggestion was from a rogue lone wolf rather than something this community will tolerate happening.”
- The consultation can be found here. The consultation runs until 7 September.