On the 13th August 2009, councillors on the city centre plans panel approved a planning application from Leeds University to build a new law school on the former Grammar School site bordering Woodhouse Moor. The new building provides facilities for over 1000 students and staff and is located at the junction of Moorland Road and Belle Vue Road.
Amazingly, councillors gave their approval to the proposal even though it was pointed out to them by a local resident that it would result in ten fewer on site parking spaces. Prior to making this application, the university had obtained planning permission to build on its car parks located off Clarendon Road. In giving approval to these planning applications, the Planning Department and councillors seemed unconcerned that the developments would lead to increased on street parking in the adjacent neighbourhood. The result is that many roads in Hyde Park are now double parked and reduced to single lane traffic.
Hyde Park Road has been particularly badly affected. Throughout the working week, it’s double parked for a considerable length to either side of its junction with Moorland Road, reducing it to one way operation.
The obvious solution would be to place yellow lines along one side of Hyde Park Road. Instead, the Highways Department plan to create a short section of one way traffic at the junction of Hyde Park Road and Edwin Road, effectively making all of Hyde Park Road one way. This means that commuters will be able to double park for almost the entire length of Hyde Park Road. Highways will have effectively turned Hyde Park Road into a car park for commuters.
Highways claim to have consulted the local community, but all they did was place notices outside the newsagents at 148 Hyde Park Road, outside 138 Hyde Park Road, and at the junction of Hyde Park Road and Edwin Road, and leave them there for 4 weeks (Highways say the notices were put in place on 16 July 2009). In reality, the first the local community knew about the proposal was when a local resident complained at the Hyde Park and Woodhouse Forum on 13 January 2011 about double parking on Hyde Park Road. Had local people been consulted, they would have pointed out that:
- Hyde Park Road is the “through road” for local traffic between Hyde Park Corner and Kirkstall Road.
- If cars are stopped passing down the normal through road, they will simply take a longer route down other, less appropriate roads.
- The proposal will cause a lot of extra traffic in an already really congested area.
Local resident Janet Bailey is so fed up with Highways ignoring the views of local people when important decisions are being made that affect the community, that she wrote a letter to Yorkshire Evening Post to express her thoughts on the subject. Janet’s letter was published in the 25th January edition of the paper.
The decision to go ahead with the scheme was made on 16.2.10, and we’ve been told that work will commence in 2 to 4 weeks time.
This problem has been caused by the university being allowed to build on its car parks, and being allowed to build new teaching facilities without making any or adequate parking provision. Local residents should not have to suffer the consequences of the planning department’s mistakes by having their roads turned into car parks.
Can I further add that not only have the University built a new Law School on the old Grammar School car park, they are also building a new exhibition building on the former cricket pitch on the same site, which will require further parking I expect. At the moment they have turned the remains of the site into a car park (smaller than the one they have built on), but have promised to turn this back into green space after building has finished. As this car park is well built and completely tarmacked, and has well built roads leading to it, it would appear that it has been built to last, not as a temporary stop gap, thus depriving the area of much needed green space. I must admit to being VERY lucky living on Clarendon Road. We do get some problems with parking, but the excellent wardens keep the problem under control brilliantly. I would hate to have to go back to the time before wardens, when we were unable to park outside our house, or, sometimes, to get our car out of the garage as some ‘bright’ person had parked in front of it! I sympathise with all the areas round the university that do not have permit parking, and whose residents are subjected to this potentially dangerous nuisance throughout the week. Creating a one way street to cater for selfish car parkers, either from the university or, let’s be fair, from commuters who park in the area to catch a bus into their place of work in town, is not the way to go. All the through roads in this area are dangerous due to excess traffic and have been for some time. Thoughtless car parking exacerbates this problem. What is wrong with making this area a Permit zone, with parking on one side of the street only? I urge the Council to change their minds about this proposal.
It is not just the university staff but also commuters who park here and walk into town. We now get people doing this in Woodhouse too. Parking permits on some streets are only burdening other streets, for example now that the streets around Woodhouse Moor and Hyde Park corner are metered or permit only, Delph Lane is now chocker-block with cars! A park and ride scheme based outside the city bringing commuters in would really help with this issue – I am sick of LS6 being a poorly organised carpark. It’s dangerous as a pedestrian and as a cyclist.
The university needs to be investing in more appropriate public transport, or applying pressure to First buses and so forth and encouraging cycling facilities for its staff, rather than building more carparks (although this would help too). Students need to be discouraged (or banned) from bringing cars to the city – it really is unnecessary and this would also encourage them to shop and live more locally.
Staff and postgrads should be encouraged to live in Hyde Park, Burley, Woodhouse and Headingley (not to mention Beeston Holbeck etc) rather than commute from Otley, Alwoodley, Ilkley etc which would in turn bring more families and balance to the area and take away the need to park around our park!
Charlotte,
Long term LS6 resident and student
I lived in Hyde Park for a long period of time (without a car) whilst I worked at the University. While I agree with most of the points made above, I feel I should respond with my experiences. Despite the fondness I still have for Hyde Park, the problems brought by the numbers of students made it impossible to continue living there whilst working a full time job. I hated having to give in but I moved away from the area due to the noise, unneighbourly behaviour and rubbish etc the students bring. It definitely got worse in the 5 years I lived there. Now I work near Leeds Uni and so does my partner. We have to drive as the buses are so rubbish. We have to park in Hyde Park (usually in the car park by HP corner but occasionally on the streets) as there is sometimes no choice because parking is so expensive. I understand your frustration and agree that resolution of these issues lies with the Council and local education institutions, please try not to blame working people parking in your area. I would love to live back in Hyde Park if I could find somewhere that is not too noisy and doesn’t force you into an annual rental agreement. I hope one day to do this, then we can get rid of the car.