Hunslet and Riverside Labour Labour values in action
October 2021 e-Leaflet
Welcome to the digital version of our autumn leaflet. We hope you find the content interesting. You can view our previous newsletter via this link. Our physical copies have been delayed by the HGV driver shortage but in the meantime you can read it online.
Unlocking Litter Free Streets
Your Labour Councillors have stepped up efforts to deal with litter in the ward.Some of the actions they have taken are:
- 22 damaged litter bins replaced
- Beeston Hill Wombles launched
- Hunslet Carr Wombles launched
- Weekly litter pick update being issued
- Institution adoption scheme agreed
- Love Where You Live Scheme agreed
- New community litter pick kits bought
- MICE Grant to the Friends of the Aire
- Working with litter picking groups
Inspired by the work of Litter Free Leeds, they are investing more money into litter bins, community litter picking kits, and supporting volunteer litter picking groups to establish and more.
Residents told them reducing litter was a priority to help make them prouder of where they live.
Cutting the amount of litter on your streets is a priority for us. We will not only invest in new bins and kit to help - but we will litter pick with you too.
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Contents
Use the links below to browse the sections of our e-newsletter and use the return to contents links at the end of each section to return here.- Unlocking litter free streets
- New woodland creation
- New Electrical recycling bins for Hunslet
- Civic Enforcement Officer Post Renewed
- Church Street Christmas and Tommy Motifs Approved
- Election 2021 Thank you
- Moor Road (LS10) Pedestrian Refuge
- Dewsbury Road Improvements
- Local Community Grants
- Councillor Area Walks
- UK Cladding Scandal
- Councillor Advice drop in sessions
- Contact Us
New Woodland Creation
Our ambition to improve your green and wilderness spaces took a further step with the Council's Woodland Creation Team meeting to discuss new sites for planting. These included:- land off of Longroyd Terrace
- several areas of underutilised grass area on lower Beeston Hill off Lady Pit Lane
- additional mature tree planting to Pepper Road Park, Hunslet Lake Park in Hunslet and Brickfields Park on Beeston Hill
These sites will now be checked for utilities to make sure they are suitable for tree planting and if so, subject to approval and local consultation, these will be planted between August and March which is the prime tree planting season. We are getting on with the work that makes your community a better place to live.
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Small Electrical Recycling Bins for Hunslet
It is great news that a new recycling bank for small electric items (toasters, kettles etc), was installed alongside the two existing Glass Banks in the Hunslet Community Hub and Library Carpark.We are lobbying for more Waste Electrical & Environmental Equipment (WEEE) recycling bins to be installed across the ward as they became available to help improve recycling rates. But we also stress the good practice of residents donating unwanted working items (big or small) before looking to dispose of them. You can find more information about ways to do this at www.leeds.gov.uk/residents/bins-and-recycling/get-rid-of-unwanted-items
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“Make no mistake - we have a clear plan to make Hunslet and Riverside a greener place to live - improving the health of residents and the natural world.” Cllr Mohammed Iqbal
Civic Enforcement Officer
We approved funding to continue to employ a dedicated Civic Enforcement Officer. In 20/21 they issued 650 Fixed Penalty Notices and Penalty Charge Notices which generated an income of £18,109. The money raised from these fines has been used to offset the £28,000 per annum cost to fund the role.Return to contents
“The officer has been great value for money. If it had not been for the impact of the pandemic the fines would have made this post cost neutral. ” Cllr Paul Wray
Church Street Christmas and Tommy Motifs Approved
We have approved funding for four new Christmas and one Tommy motif, on Church Street. In 2022 and 2023 we will expand the displays. The Tommy motif is to commemorate Remembrance Day and this will be turned on before Remembrance Sunday.Return to contents
Election 2021: Thank you from your Labour Team
Thank you to every voter, whoever you voted for, for being part of our democracy. Thank you for re-electing Mohammed Iqbal which has kept our team together. We will continue to work with the many communities of the ward to make it an even better place to live.The 15 months leading up to May were difficult for everyone. We prioritised community safety by stopping all in person campaigning and advice drop-ins and more until restrictions were eased.
But we work for you all year round, so if you need us please get in touch!
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Dewsbury Road Improvements
The first £19,000 of a dedicated £30,500 budget is to be spent on amenity improvements to the shopping district between Dewsbury Road Community Hub and Library and Hunslet Fire Station from a fund, known as the Town and District Two, has been allocated.Originally funding amounted to over £60,000 but this was reduced to £30,500 (along with similar projects across Leeds) to help the Council balance its books in light of additional core government grant reductions and the impact of the pandemic on the Council’s budget for 2021/2022.
We have approved:
- the purchase of a pram shelter and bollards for Dewsbury Road Community Hub and Library
- the commissioning of ten communication boxes to be turned into local artwork by Leeds Street Gallery – with a public consultation on what should be there to start soon
- allocated funding for at least three new street benches to allow for resting stop
- mature tree planning and fencing of the grassed area in front of Leeds Motor Sales
This follows the deployment of 20 new or replacement litter bins in late 2019 which came from the funding prior to it being reduced and new projects frozen during the initial pandemic. Councillors have also been able to secure a number of cycle parking hoops from the Connecting Leeds 3 budget, which will be allocated near to the shops to give cyclists the option of secure parking while they shop.
More funding will be needed for improving biodiversity such as tree and rain garden planters to soften up the frontage of the shopping area and reduce flood risks, and signage improvements.
Some of these and others may come from the remaining £11,000 budget. We are also keen to work with residential property owners on Dewsbury Road to tidy up some gardens fronting the shopping area which are poorly kept.
Finally, we are supporting Dewsbury Road Town Team – the lobby group for local businesses, to resume meeting to ensure businesses have a voice in the future of the area. The group stopped meetings during the pandemic.
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“We are also helping relaunch Dewsbury Road Town Team, so traders have an input into how the area is improved for them and shoppers.” Cllr Elizabeth Nash
Local Community Grants
MICE Grants
- Middleton Railway
- Leeds Samaritans
- Leeds Kabaddi Club
- Kurdish House Leeds
- Friends of Hunslet Moor
- Maltings Residents Group
- Hunslet Tenants and Resident Association
Wellbeing Grants
- Hunslet Carr Christmas Lights
- Grit Bin Refills
- Hunslet Community Gala
- Beeston Festival
- Hunslet Club Summer Gala
- St. Luke’s Local Environmental Project
- Hunslet Carr Wheel Memorial Signs Lecterns
- Hunslet & Riverside Civic Enforcement Officer
- Hunslet TARA Christmas and Tommy Lights
Moor Road Pedestrian Refuge
Roadworks have finished building a crossing aid following the concerns of many residents who found crossing Moor Road at this point difficult and unsafe. The refuge will allow people to cross the road without rushing or waiting long periods for traffic to reduce to do so.A new traffic light has also been installed on the Hunslet Carr Wheel side of the junction to improve driver visibility of light changes as they turn off Moor Road on to Belle Isle Road.
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Councillor Area Walks Return
These walks restarted once restrictions were lifted. They have raised hundreds of small issues such as footway repairs, blocked gullies (highways drains), footpath vegetation obstructions and many others – the small issues that bug people but do not typically get reported.We want to encourage the use of the councils self-service website at https://services.leeds.gov.uk/or for residents to email us. The sooner we know about an issue, the sooner we can try and fix it.
One of the key successes from these have been the clearance of a significant number of blocked gullies – mainly on Beeston Hill and in the Leeds Homes estates in Hunslet. This has resulted in a reduction of flooding risk for local residents.
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UK Cladding Scandal
Hilary Benn MP and Cllr Paul Wray were honoured to speak at a protest at Leeds Dock. Both called on the Government to cover the costs to repair all impacted buildings and then take the developers in question to court to reclaim the funds. Leeds City Council will stand firmly behind impacted residents lobbying on their behalf.Return to contents
Councillor Advice drop in sessions
Contact us
Do you have an idea about how to solve a local problem or a project idea to help improve the community – let us know using the contact form below and we could help make it a reality. You know your communities best and we want to make sure your local knowledge is used to help make it better for everyone.